


Auradon Prep

by Angel_of_Gryffindor



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Bullying, Character Death, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 18:50:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 28,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9562091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_of_Gryffindor/pseuds/Angel_of_Gryffindor
Summary: Set in a non-magic AU. Mostly Carlos centered.A bad bullying incident involving Carlos leads to justice and romance. Jay/Carlos Mal/Ben Evie/Doug. Also published on fanfiction.net. drop a Kudos if you like





	1. Preface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know this story seems kinda long at 29 chapters but each is only about 1000 words cos i spent nearly a full month writing a chapter a night. Hope you enjoy reading :)

United States of Auradon seemed like the perfect place to live; everyone was nice, it was interracial, every business was booming and people were very happy.  
Their President Adam Beast, or simply Beast, was just to his people even if his temper rose a few too many times against his opponents during debates.  
The First Lady Belle was a lovely woman from a poor part of France but she studied in Auradon Prep where she met Adam, at the height of his bad tempers, and they fell in love.  
As perfect as everything was there was one part of The United States of Auradon that was troubled was located far in the south; it was a place where ex-politicians now lived.  
When Adam Beast came to power he immediately got rid of the corrupt parliament members, sending them to a place where everything was restricted.  
However there was one place that united the next generation; Auradon Prep.  
Adam's son, Ben, had pointed out that at the age of seven that being isolated wouldn't do the children of those people any good and it would only produce more corrupt people.  
So reluctantly President Adam allowed the children to attend the school but it didn't appear to be doing very much.


	2. Chapter 1

Fifteen year old Carlos De Vil wasn't like the other kids at school; he loved school and hated home. He was the youngest in his year, making him look small and weak, he was also very smart so it made him a very easy target.  
Unfortunately it happened at school and at home.  
His mother, Cruella De Vil, was an ex-fashion designer who made an entire range from fur for every season, of course it rubbed many people the wrong way and she was soon hunted out of the main state of Auradon.  
Every closet in the house had at least five fur coats in it, made from hundreds of different animals, sometimes Carlos would catch his mother just staring at them with a sad, longing look.  
In the twenty years since all the corrupt politicians had been banished Cruella hadn't changed, mostly because there were many dodgy plastic surgeons so they nipped, tucked and inflated anybody for any price.  
Carlos looked like his mother if she had never had surgery; both had two-toned hair, Crulella split down the middle with black and white while Carlos's was black at the roots and white through to the ends.  
Both were slender, except Cruella's was from liposuction and having four ribs removed, Carlos was slim from being forgotten at mealtimes.  
The De Vil's had a great love for the same three colour; red, black and white which most of belongings were.  
The main difference was Carlos was covered in a light array of freckles from head to toe; Cruella had tried to burn them off with a skin bleach but he had managed at avoid her by constantly hiding and wearing clothes all the time.  
It was bad at home, Cruella had a very short temper and was used to having people at her every whim so now it was just her and her tiny son it meant that all her anger was directed at him.  
Carlos told himself that everything was fine and he was used it her behaviour but he still flinched when he heard her stomping down the hall or her car pull into the drive.  
His only escape was school but it didn't mean he had friends, it was safer because he could hide in the very back of library or the science lab where he was safe from everything and everyone.  
But Carlos was by no means a good kid; he would steal, mainly books and food and was very good at creating mischief so people were distracted so he could steal.


	3. Chapter 2

Carlos was out of the house before the sun had fully risen, he pulled his black and white leather body-warmer tighter around his thin frame, the red sleeves of his top were pulled over his cold hands as he made the long journey to school.  
On the way he kicked over a trash can into the path of a delivery van and then stole a loaf of bread and a bar of chocolate from the back while the driver was moving the can.  
Auradon Prep was an hour and forty-five minute walk and by the time Carlos arrived his feet hurt in his too small boots.  
Carlos was always early to arrive, even before some of the teachers, so he headed straight for the library.  
"Go for the tackle!" came a yell from the Tourney field.  
Peering out Carlos saw a few of the squad members having an early morning practice.  
There was Ben Beast, son of President Adam Beast, he was tall, tanned and blond, he had a charming smile that got him out of trouble and his grades were near perfect; all-in-all he was a perfect human being.  
Beside him was Chad Charming, son of socialite Cinderella Charming, he was like a Ben-copy but he lacked brains and tact.  
Shouting out the orders was Jay Jafar; he was a tall Arabian teen with long black hair and deep eyes, he had a natural talent for Tourney, meaning he wasn't afraid to run headfirst into a group of players, he also had a natural talent for wooing as many girls as possible.  
Carlos had never been one for Tourney, every boy had been forced to try-out when they entered Auradon Prep but even with the armour on the small De Vil came out with more bruises and spent more time running away.  
He watched them practice for a bit, a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach, "why can't I be like that?" he thought bitterly momentarily hating his small frame and weak will.  
"Are you going to study?" a sweet voice suddenly broke though Carlos's pity-party.  
Nearly dropping his books Carlos turned to see Evie Queen in all her stunning glory; there wasn't a blue-tinged hair out of place in loose curls and a handmade blue swirled dress, her signature glass apple hanging around her neck.  
Evie was very clever but she acted dumb because her mother, Evil (pronounced E-Val) Queen who used to own a plastic surgery, told her it was the only way to get a boyfriend.  
Her said boyfriend was nothing like Evil Queen expected; Doug Dopey was the son of a famous mute jeweller, he was head of the school band and with his bowtie and horn-rimmed glasses set a very nerdy personality.  
Nothing like the perfectly princely type Evie had been expected to date but they were connected.  
Hugging his books closer to his chest Carlos nodded to her question and she smiled a wide, bright white toothy smile.  
"Wicked, can we come too?" she asked softly, linking arms with Doug who blushed.  
Carlos flushed under her gaze, human interaction made his nervous, "it's, it's a free world." He croaked out.  
Evie beamed again, practically bouncing in her heeled suede boots and she began to lead the way to the library.  
Carlos took one last glance onto the Tourney field just in time to see Jay tackle the unsuspecting Chad to the ground before cautiously following the odd couple.  
The library was stocked full of books and tables, there barely any room to move around and a single window that was never opened, on the librarians desk sat several air fresheners and there was multiple ones hanging from the shelves.  
Alice Liddell, their librarian, was a strange woman with blond hair and a pinafore dress, a stuffed ginger cat and a snow white rabbit sat behind her like the good and bad conscience, she often spoke of cabbages and kings and caterpillars smoking pipes.  
Carlos immediately headed for the science books while Evie lingered at the fairytale books but he had no idea why; about twenty years ago as a kind of propaganda move several writers wrote fairytales involving the people of power.  
They were all set centuries in the past and made all the people who had been sent to the south into the antagonists and were always defeated in the end.  
Evie's mother had been made out to be some crazy woman who was jealous of her beautiful step-daughter and tried to kill her but ended up dead herself.  
Carlos's mother was portrayed a nut-case who tried turning one-hundred and one Dalmatian puppies into one perfect coat who ended up dead from a car chase and had a mocking song named after her.


	4. Chapter 3

After sitting in silence for nearly an hour the first bell rang, indicting school had started, Evie immediately sprang up and trotted out of the library while checking herself in the mirror.  
Doug sighed while closing his book, "there's three of us in the relationship." He grumbled, "me, her and that mirror." He began stuffing books into his bag.  
Carlos was still reading his book, not wanting in get swamped by the crowds, "at least you have a relationship." He replied quietly.  
The son of Dopey stopped packing away his bag to look at the small De Vil boy, who never spoke and rarely made eye contact; he surveyed him silently before leaving to catch up with Evie.  
Carlos's body immediately relaxed when he was alone but he knew he would have to go to class before the second bell sounded.  
"cake always makes me feel big." Librarian Alice suddenly said as he past her; she was holding a small plate with a little pink cake and a red mushroom, "but the mushroom makes me small enough to drown in tears."  
The hallways were packed with well dressed students, all shouting, running and slamming lockers, Carlos hung close to the lockers and ducked under people, he was only shoved into a locker once on his trip.  
Maths seemed to be a very unpopular lesson, it had the most students who needed tutoring, luckily for Carlos all the struggling students all sat at the back of the class causing trouble so the young De Vil was free to work in peace at the front.  
Halfway through an algebra problem another math book slammed onto his desk, making him jump, he slowly looked up through his lashes to see Mal Ficent glaring down at him; Mal was pretty and popular in the unconventual way, she hated people so it was more people being scared of her.  
Mal's mother had once been President Beast's opponent but was caught out bribing others and selling weapons to other countries.  
Her purple hair was clipped back with a small silver dragon, her green eyes piecing and all her clothes were stained with paint.  
"Hey Carl-loser." Mal snapped, placing both hands on the desk.  
Carlos instantly shrank back, wishing he had eaten Alice's mushroom and could shrink away, he only then noticed that the teacher was no longer in the room.  
"do my work for me." Mal commanded, shoving her book on top of Carlos's.  
Without a word he nodded and she swished away to start drawing on her desk; Carlos began work on Mal's work, trying as best as he could to copy her handwriting but at that point it was hard to tell what was actually her writing and what was his previous imitation.  
The next class, Geograghy, followed the same routine but it was Chad who dumped his homework straight into Carlos's bag.  
It was home-room for next class but Carlos planned to hide in the library again but as he was taking a few more books out of his locker he found himself inside it and the door slamming tightly shut.  
Peeking out of the top slats Carlos saw Jay smirking at him, "later dork." He winked and turned away.  
"I have Mal's work to finish." Carlos managed to call out, hoping the mention of Mal would get him out.  
But Jay continued to walk away and soon disappeared into the crowd.  
Leaning back in the locker Carlos sighed, he learnt that shouting got him nothing but a sore throat so by the dim light from the slats he tried to do Chad's homework but it was proving difficult.  
"Why are you so obsessed with her Benny-Boo?" came a sickly sweet voice from the other side of his locker.  
It was Audrey Beauty, daughter of herbal therapist Briar Rose, she was too perfect to be human, at least Evie had visible flaws sometimes; her hair was in long, dark ringlets and her preppy dress barely moved when she did.  
With her was Ben, who was in his blue shirt and yellow tie, looked tired of talking to his girlfriend, "I'm not obsessed, I just think you're being unfair to Mal." He said like he's said it hundreds of times.  
Audrey sighed softly, she grabbed her boyfriends hands and smiled her best smile, "she's bad news, she has had so many chances and she doesn't care. You need to stop wasting your time." She said sternly and spoke again before Ben had time to answer, "anyway, I have cheer practice. Bye." She air kissed him and pattered off outside; Ben let out a massive breath and lent against Carlos's locker, looking exhausted.  
Carlos was a boy of opportunity and if he didn't have to stay stuck in a locker then he would take a chance, "excuse me." He called through the slats.  
Ben nearly jumped in the air from fright, it nearly made Carlos laugh, before he approached the locker again, "what are you doing in there?" he asked.  
Carlos rolled his eyes, "I'm having a party." He said sarcastically and hoped Ben wouldn't rag on him when, if, he was let out, "can you let me out?"  
For a moment Ben frowned before coming to his sense and turning the lock but it didn't work.  
"01-25-61" Carlos told him and Ben shot him a grateful look.  
Finally the locker door swung open and Carlos was able to slip out, relieved he hadn't been in there for too long.  
"you okay?" Ben asked suddenly.  
Carlos froze, not used to having people care about his wellbeing, he was always uncomfortable around Ben who was set on being nice to everyone and never said a bad word to anyone.  
So the small De Vil quickly broke eye contact and rushed off down the hall, only to run into Evie again.


	5. Chapter 4

Evie followed Carlos down the hall; after he nearly knocked her to the floor the small De Vil tried to hurry away but he could hear her heels behind him.  
He didn't mind her presence, she seemed to be following him around more lately, at least she was nice and rarely spoke but Carlos couldn't make himself relax.  
They settled into the library again, this time Evie took out her History homework, and they settled into their own work; Carlos was trying to think how word Chad's work, so it wasn't obvious that someone else had written it but it was hard because Charming Jr was a teen of very uncomplicated words.  
Suddenly a familiar smell invaded Carlos's nose; nail polish.  
His eyes darted up to see Evie painting her nails different glittery colours, humming softly but the young De Vil was trying to quell a panic attack that was rising in his throat.  
The smell of nail polish only reminded Carlos of his mother and the way her long, sharp, bright red nails digging in his face when he tried to run away from her.  
Without a word Carlos shoved his books into his bag, stumbling out of the library, ignoring Evie's shocked look and made his way blindly through the halls.  
Finally the small De Vil came to rest in a deserted corner, far from all the classrooms, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he had to class, however Carlos was in no rush.  
Despite the chill from a unknown source Carlos started to feel tired, maybe it had been because he had only had a few hours sleep the previous night because a neighbours' cat had got in the house and got in one of his mother's closets so she made her small son clean every last coat.  
Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his shin; rubbing his eyes he noticed it was getting dark outside, there was also a very annoyed looking Chad standing in front of him with a crumpled up essay.  
"what the hell is this?" Chad snapped, throwing down the essay.  
Carlos's brain hadn't quite woken up from his unscheduled nap but he recognised the essay from one he had done last week for a Biology lesson and written in bright red at the top was a C-.  
"a C is pretty good." Carlos mumbled, rubbing his shin.  
Chad delivered another swift kick to the smaller teen's bare shin, "not when a stupid nerd was doing it for me." He growled.  
Carlos bit his tongue to stop himself pointing out that if he was 'stupid' then he wouldn't have been forced to do everyone else's homework.  
In an instant Chad gripped him tightly by the forearm and began dragging Carlos down the hall; the young De Vil could barely keep up with Chad's long strides and kept tripping over his own boots.  
"where, where are we going?" Carlos finally managed to gasp out, glancing everyone for someone to maybe notice.  
But Chad just kept dragging the smaller teen easily; soon Carlos noticed they were heading to the Tourney changing room, there hadn't been any practice since the morning but there were still several members loitering in the room, as if waiting for something.  
All eyes turned to them, a menacing air filling the changing room, two of the members opened a large door at the end to revel the showers and that was where Carlos suddenly found himself.  
His hands stung where they had slapped hard onto the slightly wet floor and he couldn't see very much in the dim light.  
"This will teach you to make me look dumb." Chad said mockingly.  
Carlos glared at the 'goody-goody' student, "you didn't need me for that." He snapped.  
Chad paled and then flushed angrily, "have a good night Carl-loser!" And with that the door slammed shut, leaving Carlos in the cold, damp and dark shower room, with no way out and nobody to care that he was gone.


	6. Chapter 5

Moments after Chad and his friends had locked the shower room door they seemed to be having fun turning the showers on and off constantly from the outside; there was no where for the small De Vil to hide in the confide space so soon found himself soaked through to the bone.  
After what seemed like an hour the Tourney team stopped playing with the water and leave for the night.  
Carlos couldn't stop shivering but he could barely move his limbs to even try opening the door, it was also getting hard to breath as his lungs seemed to be shivering too and his eyes getting heavy again.  
"this is how it ends." Carlos thought bitterly knowing no one would come looking for him and even if they did find him the people who put him there wouldn't get in trouble.  
With a heavy thump Carlos found himself on his side into a huge chilled puddle and allowed his shivers to take over.  
In some part of his clouded mind Carlos could hear a dog barking, somewhere in his mind he wanted to panic.  
Since he was a little boy Cruella had told her son that if he was naughty a dog would come for him in the night and rip out his throat, it also didn't help that three doors down owned a vicious, huge black dog that barked and foamed rabidly whenever he walked past the house.  
Carlos couldn't will his body to move as the barking got louder, followed by voices and finally the door being yanked open.  
Warm breath was suddenly all over Carlos's face but he was so cold it felt slightly painful, as did the big hands pulling him up and into the warm changing room.


	7. Chapter 6

Evie knew she shouldn't have let Carlos out of her sight from the library but he had run away so quickly and so suddenly she couldn't get her books together fast enough to catch up to him.  
Reluctantly she had gone to class but there was no sign of Carlos.  
Recently Evie had been sticking close to the small De Vil because he seemed to be the only person in the whole of Auradon being bullied and he really was a sweet kid, if not a little skittish but she wanted to be his friend.  
But it was harder than expected, even with her sweet smiles and kindness Carlos was still so cold to her, barely sparing her a glance or a word.  
It wasn't just Evie either; Mal was set on trying to keep others away by giving Carlos her work to do, as twisted as it was people were scared of her and if he was doing something for her than people wouldn't harass him.  
Jay way playing his part too but he didn't quite get the whole protection situation and seemed intent on placing the small De Vil into lockers so others couldn't touch him.  
Finally the end of the day came and there was still no sign of Carlos, Evie felt panic rise in her, the last time he had been missing for so long she found him in a trash can and the lid was duct taped shut.  
As fast as her heels could take her Evie rushed around to find Mal, who could find anyone quickly; she found her hiding in the gardens with Ben.  
Observing the pair before she approached she saw how cute they looked together but with Ben's over obsessive girlfriend who refused to take no for an answer so they stole moments together away from prying eyes.  
"what do you want E?" Mal suddenly snapped, her green eyes flashing.  
Evie blushed from being caught peeking but set her mind to what she had come for in the first place, "I can't find Carlos." She stated quickly.  
A small frown line appeared on Mal's pale face and Ben looked confused, "I let him out of locker earlier." He said unhelpfully.  
Mal punched the blond teen in the arm before grabbing both of them, "let's go find Jay." She told them and he wouldn't be hard to find.  
They found him in the bleachers, jumping from one level to another, throwing in some athletic moves.  
"Jay! Ass in gear, Carlos on the loose!" Mal shouted to him as he did a handstand on the top.  
Nearly loosing his grip Jay quickly joined them; he had pushed Carlos into his own locker earlier to stop a group of jerks from drawing on him with permeant markers.  
Jay let out a low whistle and a small brown mungle shot out from under the bleacher; Dude was a lucky mascot for the Tourney team, they had found him abandoned in a bush and he never left.  
Dude seemed to like Carlos even though he could never get close to the boy as the De Vil boy smelled of fear but it also meant he knew exactly where to find him.  
Surprising Dude didn't take the four of them very far, only into the locker room but it was completely empty; the dog began to bark loudly at the closed shower room door.  
"Open it." Evie gasped, hoping what she was thinking wasn't the reality.  
Seizing the door Ben slung it open and Dude shot inside, followed by Jay; in a large puddle of water was the still figure of Carlos.  
His lips were blue, the tips of his finger ghostly white and his breathing shallow but he was alive so Jay gently pulled him up, not sure where to grip the skinny body and brought him out into the locker room where Mal was already grabbing any dry towels she could find and Evie was turning on the radiators.


	8. Chapter 7

"We have to take his clothes." Evie stated as soon as Jay placed Carlos's still body next to the warming radiator.  
Jay paused, looking over shoulder confused, "what?" he breathed.  
Mal bustled past her, arms full of dark blue towels and immediately draped one over Carlos's head, "that makes no sense E."  
"His clothes are wet, it'll lower his body temperature." Evie explained quickly.  
Mal, Jay and Ben exchanged looks before Mal started to unlace the boots; after several long minuets of fighting with clinging, soaking clothes all four of them managed to strip Carlos of his freezing clothes.  
Jay couldn't stop the frown from marring his face; Carlos was very skinny, there were dark bruises on his shins and what appeared to be claw marks on his arms.  
Quickly covering him up Mal sat back on her heels, sighing deeply, "what now?" she turned to Evie.  
The blue haired girl twirled a lock of hair nervously, "we just have to wait till he wakes up."  
"And if he doesn't." Jay asked in a small voice.  
It was a fear none of them wanted to consider but Carlos's body didn't look like it could recover.  
Suddenly Ben pulled out his phone, "I'm phoning the police." He stated and began to dial.  
Mal leapt at him like a cat with rabies, grabbing the phone, shutting it off and shoving it deep into her own pocket, "not a chance." She snapped "why not?" Ben glare at her, "someone has hurt him, on purpose, they need to be punished." He tried to appeal to her rationalisation.  
Rolling her eyes Mal huffed, "but we have no idea who."  
"if the police come here then we'll get the blame." Evie added, her own phone in her hand.  
"that's not true." Ben said but knew it was the truth.  
Despite the next generation studying together, the adults were less forgiving and easily accused the teens of all sorts of crimes.  
For a long time they sat in silence, Evie clicking on her phone quickly as she messaged Doug, Ben kept look out, Mal paced nervously and Jay sat beside Carlos, with Dude wrapped out his feet.  
Slowly Mal pulled the shower room door back open, hoping there were some clues inside, but it was empty except the large puddles.  
However as Mal was about to close the door something caught her eye; it was a soaked piece of paper, all the ink had run but there was a big red smudge on the top.  
"guys." Mall called.  
Evie was immediately by her side, as was Ben and Jay finally sidled up beside her, "recognise that?" Mal asked, pointing at the paper.  
Ben squinted at it, "it kind of looks like the Biology tests we got back today." He mentioned.  
Mal suddenly flushed red, "has he been doing someone else's work?" she hissed.  
The whole point of her forcing her work onto Carlos was so no one else did, Mal was perfectly capable of doing her own work and it seemed that her best effort was being wasted because someone didn't know their boundaries.  
"you're not suggesting that someone did this, over a test score?" Evie was trying to wrap her brain around the idea.  
"you've got to be kidding me." Jay breathed, sweeping his long hair from his face.  
Mal too deep, steady breaths, "let's see if Carlos will wake up." She said softly.  
Only Carlos was no longer there.


	9. Chapter 8

When Carlos was coming to he noticed two major things; the first was that he was warm, actually genuinely warm, all wrapped up in something soft and fluffy.  
The second was that someone was sitting very close to him, so Carlos remained very still even though he was awake.  
There was barely any noise around him, just the sound of someone walking around in heavy boots, so very cautiously he opened his eyes the tiniest bit; without moving his head the only person he could see was Ben standing by the door.  
Carlos saw that he was still in the locker room, suddenly the heavy boots stormed across the room and swung open the shower room door, nearly making the small De Vil jump.  
A small, brown shaggy dog, sitting at Carlos's feet, suddenly looked up and he held in a scream; it was so close, so warm, he could feel it's stomach rising and falling on his bare feet.  
The person who had been sitting beside him moved away, as had Ben, so Carlos quickly opened his eyes and shifted to move; the dog looked at Carlos and he froze.  
"shh." Carlos breathed quickly as he continued to stand, towels falling off him.  
To his surprise the dog stood perfectly still, eyes still locked with Carlos's and tail wagging furiously.  
Grasping the last towel around his naked body he glanced up to see four people standing at the shower room door, talking softly, so as quietly and quickly as he could Carlos edged around the dog and out of the door without alerting any of them.  
The halls of Auradon Prep were empty, just the soft whirring of the CCTV cameras, it was much colder outside than in the locker room and Carlos wished he had made a grab for his clothes on the way out.  
"now, how to get home." Carlos thought, sighing deeply.  
Carlos knew he could take his time going home, he was already later than late so his mother would punish him no matter what.  
Tucking the towel more firmly around his waist Carlos set off back down the hall to the front door, then he heard loud footfalls behind him.  
"Hey!" a male called through the dark.  
Panic slammed into Carlos's stomach and without a thought he shot off across the Tourney field to his right; the grass was cold and course under his bare feet but Carlos kept his eyes on the woods at the other end of the field.  
There was still the person behind him, catching up quickly, shouting for him to stop but Carlos refused to listen and soon he was in the woods.  
It was much harder to see in the woods but Carlos kept on, twigs and brambles cuts at his skin, stones were uncomfortable beneath his feet but he kept on until he came to a very secret hiding place.  
Even though the library and science lab were Carlos's favorite places to hide there was one last resort; roots of three trees had grown together to create a sort of hidden den and Carlos was just the right size to fit into it.  
Gulping down air the small De Vil went through the roots feet first, twisting his slim body around the winding roots until his feet touched the soil beneath and no sooner than he sat down another body slammed hard into the roots.  
"Dammit De Vil! Come out!" they demanded.  
Under the pale moonlight Carlos could just make out Jay's handsome face scowling down at him, his long hair was hanging wildly around his shoulders.  
Carlos just shrank back more, "leave me alone." Carlos managed to shout back, pulling his towel around himself.  
"come out or I'll come in there to get you." Jay snapped.  
"I'd like to see you try." Carlos challenged knowing Jay would never fit through the roots; he was too tall, too muscular.  
All the same Carlos saw the tanned limbs trying to get through the roots, each getting stuck within moments and retreating to try again with another.  
Carlos had to admire Jay's drive to want to get to him.  
After several more attempts Jay let out an angry shout, "get out here Carlos!" and began pulling at the roots, which refused to budge.  
Carlos wondered why Jay was so intent on getting him to come out, all the Arabian teen did was put him in lockers and it seemed a bit pointless to stay behind school for so long just to do it again.  
Finally everything went quiet, "alright Carlos." Jay said softly, "you win."  
Carlos smiled smugly to himself, for once he had gotten out of have the stuffing knocked out of him.  
"but," Jay continued to speak, an uneasy feeling started to swirl in Carlos's stomach, "if you don't come out, I'll have to send the dog in."  
"no!" Carlos shouted, suddenly noticing the small brown dog from before looking down at him.  
"you're choice." Jay sounded very proud of himself.  
Biting his lip Carlos weighed up his options; be in an enclosed space with a dog or walk straight into one of Jay's pranks.  
Sighing deeply Carlos began to climb through the roots, feeling them scrap his skin as he wriggled past, "keep that dog away." He shouted to Jay the further he got up.  
When he finally emerged Jay was holding the panting dog tightly under one arm and grinning a very cocky grim at Carlos.  
"gave us a fright there De Vil." Jay said suddenly.  
Carlos said nothing, just scowled at him and tried to process his words that made no sense; suddenly more people came crashing through the wood.  
Mal and Ben appeared with twigs and leaves stuck all over them, rosy cheeks and panting.  
"good, you found him." Mal snapped at Jay before approaching Carlos, who instantly flinched back, "you are a moron."  
Carlos didn't meet her eyes, not knowing what she was going to do to him, but she kept talking, "do you have any idea what you've put Evie through? What you put all of us through?"  
Glancing up Carlos saw a half angry, half worried look on Mal's pale face, "don't be too hard on him Mal." Ben came up behind her and smiled gently at the small De Vil.  
Mal sighed deeply, "you're right. Let's get back." She said grabbing a jacket off Ben and draping it around Carlos's shivering shoulders.  
Very confused, and a little afraid, Carlos followed them back through the woods, Jay's arm was clamped tightly around his own, almost protectively.  
Upon coming back onto the Tourney field the dark figure of Evie came shooting at them, her eyes filled with tears and flung herself at Carlos, hugging him tighter than she should have done.  
Then something strange clicked in Carlos's brain; why had these four been around after school finished, unless they had come looking for him and had actually been worried about him.  
They had saved him, he realized that none of them had ever actually physically harmed him and the thought brought tears to his eyes and he couldn't stop he sob escaping.


	10. Chapter 9

Still sniffing and hiccupping softly Carlos was coaxed back into the school building but Ben lead them to the kitchen, after a quick stop off to pick up Carlos's now dry clothes, because none of them had eaten.  
The young De Vil wasn't sure how he should feel at that moment; he was surrounded by people who cared about him, he was warm in a huge dark kitchen and a large tub of ice cream was in front of him, it felt like he was dreaming.  
Suddenly a wet nose touched his arm and Carlos flinched away.  
"here Dude." Jay called the dog away but he refused to move.  
Carlos's grip on the spoon tightened, not taking his eyes from Dude's he slowly reached out and touched the soft fur.  
A sense of relief washed over Carlos, like an unknown strain had snapped, the dog wasn't scary or going to attack him only lick him all over.  
"I'm going to call my folks." Ben announced and held his hand out to Mal.  
Looking annoyed Mal began to dig around in her pocket for his phone before going back to eating the strawberry cheesecake.  
"everyone can stay the night." Ben added as he speed-dialled a number.  
Carlos looked up from scratching Dude behind the ear, a frown creasing his freckled forehead, "what does he mean 'stay the night'? like in the school." He whispered to Jay on his left.  
"no, like, at his house." The long haired boy replied.  
Carlos had never stayed over at anyone else's before; his mother didn't like him being away overnight but it was probably too late for him to care about that.  
Ben shut off his phone after a couple of short convocations, "my dad will be here in about ten." He told them.  
"oh, you're dad is coming personally, don't we feel important." Mal joked and Ben smiled warmly at her.  
The four teens quickly cleaned away all their mess, with Ben leaving a couple of note to cover the cost of everything they had eaten, before leaving for the front gates to wait for President Beast.  
Walking though the hallways was still a bit chilled but with Jay's muscled around slung around him Carlos barely felt it.  
A Government official car was waiting for them by the time they made to the gates, Adam Beast emerged in a long coat to cover the fact he was wearing his pyjamas.  
"there had better be a good explanation." Beast said as they got to the car.  
Guilt swirled in Carlos's gut, "it's my fault." He suddenly blurted out.  
Five pairs of eyes spun around to look at him, "don't be dumb De Vil, none of this was you're fault." Mal spat.  
"yeah, the Tourney team are to blame." Evie added and gripped Carlos's hand tightly, her eyes shining with tears.  
Beast's eyebrows shot up, "the Tourney team?" he turned to Ben.  
Ben sighed deeply, "can we explain in the morning, it's been an eventful evening." He looked at his dad hopefully.  
Without a thought Beast nodded and they all climbed into the back of the shiny black car; the drive to Ben's house didn't take very long which was lucky because there wasn't much room in the back with every packed in.  
President Beast had 'down-graded' from his family's castle like estate beyond the woods and had a much closer townhouse; it had ten bedrooms, five bathrooms, a state-of-the-art kitchen and a built gym in the basement.  
Belle was waiting for them at the door, looking kind and elegant even though it was late, "we were getting worried." She said softly as Ben approached her, she smiled softly at his friends, "a sleepover dear?"  
Carlos didn't know what to say, normally if his mother met him at the door it was quickly followed by being hit by her handbag and shouted at.  
Belle ushered them all inside; there was a grand chandler hanging in the foyer, a stain glass window depicting a fairytale of 'Beauty and the Beast' at the top of the stairs.  
Two staff were waiting at the bottom of stairs' a portly man with a small moustache and a pocketwatch, the other was a young woman in a black uniform and beauty spot.  
"Babette please take their coats." Belle instructed the woman.  
Babette moved with a swish in her hips and she quickly disappeared, Dude following her loyally.  
"come on, you guys can borrow some clothes." Ben said to Carlos and Jay.  
Belle took Mal and Evie by the hand, "you two come with me."  
Ben's room was full of trophies for one thing or another, all painted a royal blue and a beautiful photo of Mal on his windowsill.  
Carlos doubted anything belonging to Ben would fit his much smaller frame but he took the clothes none the less and followed him further down the hall to another blue room.  
There was double bed, large white dresser and ottoman at the end of the bed, there was also an adjourning bedroom.  
"this is your room Carlos." Ben told him softly.  
"what all of it?" Carlos spluttered out.  
Ben laughed softly, if not a little uncomfortably, "of course." He lent in closer, "for more than tonight if needed." He whispered.  
"I wanna sleep in here too." Jay suddenly said, sliding his arm tightly back around Carlos's shoulders.  
Carlos span to the taller boy, why was Jay wanting to stay in the same room, the same bed, as the small De Vil but the thought made Carlos feel much safer and it hadn't even happened yet.  
"do you mind Carlos?" Ben asked, glancing from him to Jay, who still hadn't let go of Carlos's shoulders.  
Carlos shook his head and could almost hear the smug smile creep over Jay's face.  
Ben bid them goodnight and Carlos went to investigate the bed; it was soft and warm, the duvet was so thick is squished under his hand.  
"getting in?" Jay was already in the loose bottoms and sports t-shirt Ben had lent him and was climbing into one side of the huge bed.  
Blushing Carlos took off his clothes, feeling Jay's eyes on him the whole time, but the Arabian teen had seen him completely naked earlier so it didn't bother Carlos too much.  
As expected the pyjamas were huge of Carlos's slight frame, it seemed pointless to wear bottoms since the shirt was so long so he quickly jumped into the other side of the bed.  
Carlos bit back a groan of pleasure; he had never been surrounded by so much comfort in his life and he began to fall asleep instantly, Jay's even breaths were soothing.  
"I like your freckles." Jay whispered in the dark just as Carlos fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 10

Despite the fact that Carlos was comfortable and warm he woke at his usual time, he tried to roll over so he could slip out the cosy duvet but there was something wrapped tightly around him.  
Squinting in the darkness Carlos managed to shift enough to see Jay's peaceful sleeping face inches from his own; a shot of heat shot across the De Vil's face, Jay's arms were wound protectively him and was pressing their half-naked bodies together.  
During the night the shirt Carlos was wearing had ridden up, revelling his flat stomach and his small boxers weren't helping cover any modesty.  
Carlos began to wriggle but Jay's grip was too strong, so he placed his hands firmly on the Arabian's muscled chest and pushed away as hard as he could.  
By some miracle it worked and the small De Vil was able to escape from the bed; in the darkness he managed to make his way to the door, managing to find a dressing gown hanging on the end of the bed.  
The whole townhouse was dark but there was a delicious smell coming from one of the rooms on the ground floor and it made Carlos's stomach growl angrily.  
The smell was coming from the kitchen where one man was cooking a huge array of foods; he was a stick thin man with honey coloured hair and flour on his cravat.  
Carlos lingered at the door, his stomach knotted hungrily, not wanting to disturb the man who was obviously very busy but before he could turn away to go back to bed Dude appeared at his ankles and barked happily.  
"Allo?" the man approached the door.  
A wide smile spread his face when he spotted Carlos, "bonjour my little one!" he greeted happily, "I am Lumiere."  
"I'm Carlos." The small De Vil said quietly.  
Lumiere ushered Carlos into the kitchen; the tables were filled plates of pastries, pots of jams and jellies and several boxes of cereals.  
"what's all this for?" Carlos asked, eyeing a container of yogurt covered strawberries.  
Lumiere looked up from his mixing bowl, "it is breakfast."  
Carlos frowned, normally for breakfast his mother would eat some scrambled egg white and he would have nothing, he hadn't seen so much food just for breakfast and he's never been in the cafeteria at Auradon Prep.  
"taste." Lumiere held out a warm croissant.  
It was still hot, buttery and flakey, Carlos devoured it with three bites.  
Over the next hour Carlos stayed in the kitchen, tasting everything till his stomach hurt, helping Lumiere make even more food for when everyone else woke up.  
President Beast was first awake, Clogworth, the portly gentleman from the previous night, presented him with a huge mug of coffee.  
Ben appeared with Mal, who began to help herself to all the strawberries and Ben piled eggs on his plate.  
Belle came in with Evie, looking flawless as ever.  
Finally Jay came stumbling downstairs looking dishevelled and cast Carlos a strange look.  
They all made pleasant convocation while they all ate, Carlos watched with a pleasant feeling; there was no shouting, Lumiere kept bringing in toast and coffee and the small De Vil didn't want to move from his chair.  
"so, what happened last night?" Beast finally asked.  
Carlos paused, his orange juice halfway to his lips, he had hoped the situation would have just been avoided, like school.  
The five teenagers looked at each other, trying to figure out how to explain, so Evie took a deep breath but Carlos cut across her.  
"it's my fault." He said.  
Beast nodded seriously, "yes you said that last night, but how?"  
"Carlos was being bullied." Ben told his dad and Carlos felt like sinking into the ground.  
Belle choked on her tea, "bullied?" she gasped, "by who?" her warm, worried eyes set on the small De Vil.  
"pretty much everyone." Ben replied.  
"we tried to help but it wasn't enough." Mal added, still looking annoyed that her plan hadn't worked.  
"we just -" "Enough!" Carlos shouted, silencing everyone.  
It was bad enough that he was being bullied, now they were talking about it like it wasn't something to be embarrassed by the situation, it infuriated Carlos but he didn't know how to talk about it without feeling like a lowly human being.  
"Carlos, calm down." Jay said in a low, soothing voice.  
President Beast slowly approached the slightly shaking De Vil, a soft fatherly look on his face, "son, I know it may not look like it but people bullied me."  
Carlos didn't believe him.  
"it's hard but if you told us -"  
"don't patronise me." Carlos snapped.  
Beast looked surprised and for a long time nobody moved before the President huffed deeply and turned to Ben, "you said it was the Tourney team."  
"yeah, but we don't know who or why." Ben shrugged.  
Belle was wringing her napkin, looking distressed but Carlos looked about ready to faint but the matter was dropped down the moment, much to Carlos's pleasure.  
After a long breakfast everyone went back to their rooms; Carlos was still wound up from the convocation at breakfast so he slammed about at getting ready for the day.  
Suddenly there was a tall shadow looming over him, he turned around in a panic but it was only Jay; the Arabian had a worried look on his face, his dark eyes set on Carlos's face.  
"w-what?" Carlos breathed.  
Jay was silent, a shiver ran up the small De Vil's spine as he looked into Jay's deep, concerned eyes, "what's the matter?" Carlos asked again.  
"who did it?" Jay asked in a serious, sharp voice.  
Carlos flushed, and not just because Jay was so close to him, and looked away momentarily, "it doesn't matter." He mumbled.  
Jay forced him to look up, holding his chin in place, "you almost died."  
"don't be overdramatic." Carlos said softly but Jay ignored him.  
"everything up till now was petty but this is serious. Now tell me who did it." Jay demanded.  
Carlos managed to tear himself away, placing himself on the other side of the bed, "it doesn't matter because even if I tell you they won't get in trouble!" he snapped, getting annoyed again.  
Jay pushed his hair from his face, "do you know who's involved now, who cares about you! The ass-hat who did this won't be able to walk once were done, let alone be allowed to stay in the school!" he was breathing hard.  
Tears stung Carlos's eyes, still getting used to having people actually caring about what happened to him.  
It was, it was.." Carlos took a shaking breath, "it was Chad Charming." He rushed out.  
An uncomfortable silence followed until Jay flushed a dark colour of red and stormed out of the room, Carlos close behind.


	12. Chapter 11

"Mal!" Jay shouted as he descended the stairs, "Mal!"  
The purple haired girl appeared with a shocked look, "what?" she asked quickly.  
"it was fricken Chad Charming." Jay snarled.  
By that time everyone else had appeared in the foyer so they all heard Jay's announcement; Mal immediately flew into a rage, smashing a vase and swearing loudly before Ben was able to restrain her but he looked ready to punch a certain someone.  
Evie was gripping her mirror so hard it threatened to creak, her pretty face blotched red with frustration.  
President Beast had stopped talking to his assistant on the phone, "Cinderella and Kit's son?" he asked with a frown.  
"the snooty dumb one." Jay clenched his fists so tightly they turned white.  
Carlos was stood frozen at the top of the stairs, he didn't know what to do; everyone was so angry and he was pretty sure Beast didn't believe him.  
"awful." Belle snapped and disappeared into a different room.  
Finally Beast got off the phone and approached Carlos, "when you get to school go straight to Mrs GodMother's office, we're going to sort this out." He told him kindly.  
Carlos swallowed but nodded, his heart quivered nervously but he would stay strong because, for once, he had people on his side.  
The ride to Auradon Prep was very awkward; Mal was still swearing under her breath, Evie was furiously messaging Doug, both dressed in some of Belle's old clothes so they looked less like themselves.  
Ben was ignoring several phone calls from Audrey, not in the mood to listen to her.  
Jay practically had Carlos in his lap, mumbling threats every so often, usually involving caving in Chad's stupid face.  
"Benny!" Audrey's voice immediately attacked them the moment they got out of the car.  
She was wearing a flowery skirt and frilly blouse, her hair perfect but she looked seriously annoyed, "I've been phoning you all morning." Audrey snipped.  
Ben sighed and rolled his eyes, "I've been busy." He said lamely.  
Audrey immediately noticed Mal, wearing a lemon coloured summer dress that obviously didn't belong to her, and her cheeks flushed pink, "with her?" she asked through gritted teeth.  
Carlos took his chance to get away, only Jay was still stuck to his side and followed him the whole way to the office.  
"er, stay out here." Carlos told Jay as sternly as he could.  
The Arabian frowned, "no I'm coming in."  
"I'll shout if I need you." Carlos insisted.  
Jay only allowed him to enter the office once he had promised to call for him if Chad even looke at him funny.  
Mrs GodMother's office was light and airy, there was ribbons and lace everywhere; Fearie GodMother was a happy middle aged woman with a sensible brown bun.  
Chad Charming was already in the office, looking like he was smelling something foul, beside him was a very pretty woman; her blond hair was piled elegantly on top of her head and her baby blue dress was slightly too short but she had a kind face.  
"ah, Carlos." Mrs GodMother greeted with a smile and motioned for him to sit down.  
Carefully lowering himself into the seat next to blond woman he was surprised when she took his hand in her own bejewelled one; Carlos looked up and she too smiled at him.  
"I heard Chad was bullying you." Her voice was soft and warm.  
Chad made a scoffing noise but she ignored him, "I'm his mother, Cinderella, and trust me when I say my son will be seriously punished."  
"I didn't do anything." Chad snapped and his mother turned on him.  
Mrs GodMother tapped a pointer on her desk to get their attention, "thank you, but let's hear both sides of this story." She smiled kindly, "Chad?"  
Charming Jr lent back in his chair, looking confident, "I have no idea what happened to De Vil, I was studying in the library and then I went home. Dunno why he's blaming me." He shrugged.  
Anger welled in Carlos's stomach, annoyed by Chad's bare-faced lie, even more so when GodMother wrote down what he had said.  
"okay." GodMother said quietly as she wrote the last bit and then looked up, smiling at Carlos, "now, what's your story?"  
Carlos picked at his sleeve, a nervous lump in his throat, "um, Chad's been dropping his homework into my bag for a couple of months but, um, he only got a C on an essay and he obviously thought it wasn't good enough." He rambled out, hoping some of it made sense.  
Cinderella had taken his hand again but was shooting an angry look at her confused son.  
"he took me to the Tourney shower room and put me in there, closing the door after me." Carlos continued, "I guess he got bored of turning the water on an off so he went home. If it wasn't for Jay, Mal, Evie an Ben I probably would have died."  
Chad scoffed again, "over dramatic."  
"you think this is funny?" Cinderella snapped at him, "that you bullied someone smaller than you, that you almost killed someone."  
"but he's fine mom!" Chad shouted back at her, "I didn't do nothing." He huffed.  
GodMother observed them, "was it defiantly Chad?" she asked Carlos softly.  
Carlos nodded, "defiantly."  
Nodding GodMother pressed a button on her intercom, "come in Alice." And moments later librarian Alice appeared in her usual pinafore dress.  
"was Chad Charming in your library last night?" GodMother asked the older blond kindly.  
For a moment Alice was silent, stroking a small pig charm on a bracelet, "Chad wasn't present at my tea party last night, just me and the Hatter." She told them.  
"thank you Alice." GodMother dismissed her and shot a dark look at Chad, "we don't appreciate your lies."  
Chad stood in a rage, "I can't believe you're believing him," he jabbed a finger at Carlos, "over me. Do you know who I am?"  
"I know exactly who you are." Cinderella Charming stood too, she was just taller than Chad in her heels, "you are a spoiled brat and I can't stand the thought that you have turned out like your Aunt Drizzla."  
Cinderella didn't have a very nice step-family, her step-mother and one of her step-sisters lived in the South of Auradon but Cinderella had made friends with her other step-sister Anastasia.  
In their youth her family had been awful to her, making her do everything around the house as well as go to school but at the prom GodMother had lent her a dress from the Drama department and Cinderella had met Kit Charming, who saved her.  
"you're grounded, and I'm taking away your phone, your credit card and every fun thing from your room." Cinderella said sternly,


	13. Chapter 12

Cinderella marched her stubborn son down the hall by his ear, reciting over and over how he was going to be punished, including to be sent to stay with his Aunt Anastasia, who although was kind now was still a strange woman.  
Jay watched her storm away, not listening to a word Chad ha to say for himself.  
"what's going to happen now?" Carlos was still sat in the same seat, still not quite believing what had just happened.  
Mrs GodMother sighed deeply, "he'll be suspended until further notice, to expel him we'll need solid evidence." She glanced up with a sorry smile, "no offence."  
Carlos frowned, glancing back he could no long see Cinderella but Jay was standing in the doorway, "why did she believe me? Over her own son." He asked cautiously.  
"Cinderella was bullied too, she wasn't always a socialite, she knows the look of someone being abused." GodMother explained. Before Carlos could say anything else Evie arrived, breathless, with a bright red Doug in tow, he was carrying a DVD, "Mrs GodMother!" Evie exclaimed.  
"What is the matter child?" GodMother said alarmed.  
"you haven't expelled Chad." Evie stated the obvious.  
GodMother sighed, "there is no solid evidence, just some very trustworthy words."  
Evie suddenly seized Doug's hand, brandishing the DVD violently, "but we have the CCTV footage."  
Carlos's mouth fell open; he knew there was cameras all over Auradon Prep but he had no idea how they managed to get hold of the footage.  
Holding out her hand GodMother took the DVD and dismissed them; as soon as the door closed Evie threw herself at the small, unsuspecting De Vil.  
"oh Carlos, I'm so proud of you." She gushed.  
Carlos could only nod, not sure how to reply but both her and Jay were looking at him with proud faces, even Doug patted him kindly on the shoulder.  
The small group made their way to their classroom; Carlos felt much lighter than ever before, a huge weight gone from his thin shoulders and he couldn't help smiling.  
Walking into the classroom the teacher wasn't present but the Tourney team was, the small De Vil stopped dead, gripping the long sleeves of his borrowed coat and slunk back slightly.  
"er, De Vil?" Fin approached slowly.  
Fin was the red headed son of Ariel, a champion swimmer, he was good at talking and communicating with everyone.  
Fin looked nervous, "can we talk to you?" he asked.  
Immediately Jay was protectively in front of Carlos, "anything you have to say to Carlos you can say to us too." He snarled.  
Mal appeared out of nowhere, her hair mussed and dress twisted.  
Fin shot a look at the rest of the team before straining to see Carlos behind the Arabian, finally the small De Vil step forward.  
"look, we want to say we're sorry." Fin said, the Tourney team nodding in agreement.  
Jay went to argue but Carlos stopped him quickly, "then why did you do it?" The son of famous ice sculpture Kristoff, Kris Troll, stepped forward; a giant of a teen with untidy blond hair and eyebrows.  
"we didn't actually know what was going to happen." He explained.  
Fin nodded, "yeah, Chad said he had to sort something out, we had no idea he planned to leave you in there."  
Breaking eye contact Carlos shifted uncomfortably as the rest of the class were listening solely to their convocation, "then why did you help?"  
"we didn't!" Al jumped forward.  
Son was adventurers Aladdin and Jasmine Agraba, he was a short Arabian with a cheeky grin, "as soon as he close the door we told him to grow up."  
"then Audrey appeared." Fin added.  
Carlos frowned but allowed the teens to continue, "she suggested turning the shower on and, we're sorry man, we bailed." Kris told him.  
"so you just left him." Mal snarled, obviously not caring how many times they said sorry.  
The Tourney team shuffled nervously and Carlos felt bad for them; of course they hadn't wanted to stand up the Chad, especially for someone they hadn't even spoken to.  
Carlos sighed, "it's fine, I accept your apology, let's just get on with our lives." He gave them a half smile and they all looked relived.  
"are you serious?" Jay hissed in his ear.  
Nodding the small De Vil looked at his friends around him, hoping they wouldn't argue any more.  
Mal sighed in annoyance, "whatever. The Tourney team are safe." She cracked her knuckles, "Audrey on the other hand.."  
At the moment Ben came into the classroom, his cheek bright red and blazer rumpled but he looked relieved; he was shortly followed by Audrey who looked haughty and stiff.  
"what's happened?" Ben asked, slipping a hand around Mal's waist.  
"the Tourney team have just told us something very interesting." Evie said with a smug smile.  
Audrey stopped dead, her heels skidding and she rounded on them, her pretty eyes wide with panic but there was no mercy on anyone's faces.


	14. Chapter 13

"you got something to tell us there Audrey?" Mal asked in a smooth, dangerous voice.  
Audrey laughed nervously, eyes darting to each of the Tourney members but they refused to look at her, "what ever are you talking about?" her voice was high.  
"what's going on?" Ben whispered in Carlos's ear.  
Carlos ignored him, he was too busy staring Audrey down, with the rest of the class who now knew what she had done and her pretty face was creaking under the pressure.  
Audrey's face turned a strange colour of pink, her eyes immediately watering, "so what if I did do it?" she shrieked, "it's not like anyone stopped us." She gestured to the Tourney team.  
"difference is we didn't do it on purpose." Fin snapped, still looking a bit guilty.  
The cheerleader scoffed, "whatever, it doesn't matter anyway, it was only De Vil." Audrey shot Carlos a snarky look.  
Before anyone knew what was happening Jay had flew across the classroom at her, tackling her hard to the floor and began hitting her; Mal was cheering him on, her face scrunched up angrily, as was most of the class but Carlos flung himself at Jay and tried to pull him away.  
"stop it Jay!" Carlos tried to make himself heard over all the noise but it was impossible, "you'll get in trouble!"  
"Too late!" a voice boomed from the door.  
It was Mr Gus, a mousy looking man with very propionate teeth, "what in the world is going on here? I defiantly do not condone violence in my classroom."  
Jay had stopped mid punch, he was panting and shaking from anger; Audrey was a patchwork of bruises and bloodstains, for once she was in disarray and looked human.  
Ben immediately went over to Mr Gus, "it wasn't Jay's fault sir, he was provoked." He explained.  
But Mr Gus looked unconvinced since Jay was known for starting fights for mostly unknown causes, "I think we should all go to Mrs GodMother's office." He finally said.  
Carlos kept a tight hold of the back of Jay's shirt as he moved off Audrey, worried he might attack her again, but he soon found himself under the Arabian's strong arm.  
For the second time that morning Carlos found himself in Mrs GodMother's office, this time Jay was sat on one side of him with his fists clenched and Audrey on the other side who was crying and dabbing her swollen eye.  
Surprising Jay hadn't broken anything on the girl, just bruised her a lot, he had been too angry to actually concentrate on his punches so they hadn't been quite as powerful.  
Mrs GodMother was silently watching them, a non-readable face, before she finally sighed, "Mr Jafar, you are suspended for three days for fighting."  
"what?" Jay stood angrily, "but it was her fault!" he gestured wildly to Audrey.  
"it really was Mrs GodMother." Carlos managed to add.  
The Headmistress held up a hand to silence them and Jay reluctantly sat back down, immediately gripping the small De Vil's hand tightly.  
"yes you are suspended for three days, just be greatful it wasn't longer." Mrs GodMother repeated before turning to face Audrey, "you on the other hand young lady are expelled."  
There was a thick silence that followed, nobody knew quiet what to say, so GodMother continued, "in light of new evidence involving Chad Charming, it appears he wasn't alone in his actions." She held up the DVD Evie had brought earlier, "your mother has been contacted and you must leave the premises swiftly and not return to Auradon property until further notice."  
As if on cue a woman with tanned skin and long golden hair, her dress was very floaty in a bright blue and she looked very unimpressed.  
"thank you for coming Brair." GodMother greeted her.  
Brair Rose approached her bruised daughter, touching her face softly and for a moment looked like she was going to comfort her but instead said, "is what I've been told true? You deliberately harmed another person." Her voice was dream-like.  
Audrey's mouth fell open, "don't tell me you believe them mother?" she gasped.  
Brair's purple eyes found Carlos's, she took in his thin frame, healing cuts and honest face before turning to GodMother, "am I allowed to see the evidence?" she finally asked.  
Nerves took over Carlos, he wasn't sure if he wanted to himself getting bullied but he kept quiet, just squeezed Jay's hand tighter.  
Mrs GodMother inserted the DVD into a player beside her and the TV sprang to life; it was all on black and white, it showed the locker room filled with its teen players but there was no sound.  
Moments later Chad appeared, dragging Carlos behind him; Carlos didn't realise how small he actually was beside his peers.  
On the screen Carlos was thrown into the shower room and the door closed; in the locker room there was an argument between Chad and the Tourney team, soon Audrey appeared.  
Initially she just seemed to be asking a simple question but then took interest what Chad was up to, she was the one who pointed out the lever on the wall to turn the water on.  
The next couple of minuets involved Chad and Audrey turning the lever left and right to play with the water, the team left shortly after, until the pair finally left, laughing as they went.  
GodMother turned off the TV and turned to them, "I think that says enough." She said softly.  
Audrey had gone pale, obviously unaware that there had been CCTV in the locker room, and her mother was frowning deeply.  
"do you have anything to say for yourself Audrey?" Brair Rose asked softly, her tone still gentle.  
"mother," Audrey laughed nervously, "it was just a joke." She lent closer to her mother and whispered, "do you know who his mother is?"  
Carlos frowned, "why did that matter? I'm not my mother." He thought bitterly.  
"I do know who his mother is, but that is not important." Brair Rose hummed.  
Audrey stood to face her mother properly, "if I leave this school my life is over!" she screamed.  
But Brair was unfazed, "so your life is more important than his?" she asked, placing a small hand on Carlos's shoulder.  
"well yeah." Audrey said immediately.  
A flush of colour entered Brair's face and without a word took her daughter by the arm and escorted her out of the school.  
Shortly after Mrs GodMother dismissed the boys, reminding Jay to go home as soon as or his father would have to collect him.  
"Carlos." Jay finally spoke once they had reached the front doors.  
The small De Vil had been quiet since leaving the office, Audrey's words still going around his head, she actually thought his life meant less than nothing, it was making his heart feel heavy.  
"stick close to Mal, yeah?" Jay cut through his thoughts, "it's only for three days."  
Carlos looked at the Arabian, feeling sad he wouldn't see him; even though it had only been a day since finding out that Jay was actually protecting him the small De Vil was used to having Jay so close to him all the time.  
"is your dad going to punish you?" Carlos asked, not voicing his insecurities.  
Jay laughed in a carefree way, "he'll probably praise me, might get a new coat out of it." He joked.  
Carlos smiled too but then Jay's face turned serious, "when I come back, I've got something to tell you." He said with a blank face.  
Nodding Carlos wondered what the Arabian could possibly have to say to him but it had to wait three days.  
Carlos watched Jay slowly retreat down the road, an empty feeling in his stomach but it wasn't from hunger and he stood there until Evie found him.  
.


	15. Chapter 14

By the time Carlos went back to class it seemed like the whole school knew what had happened; the classroom was buzzing with noise, some were casting the small De Vil suspicious looks but it was only because they too had bullied him at one time or another.  
Carlos had no intention of getting anyone else expelled.  
"hey." Someone was in front of his desk.  
Looking up he saw one of the cheerleaders; it was Evangeline, the daughter of Tiana who owned the best restaurant in the world, she was dark skinned and very head strong.  
"I heard you're the reason Audrey got expelled." Evangeline said.  
Carlos heard two chairs being scraped back, spotting Mal and Evie out of the corner of his eye, but he managed to simply say, "yeah, sorry."  
The small De Vil knew Audrey was head cheerleader and always came up with very complicated routines that were much better than their opposing teams.  
Suddenly Evangeline laughed, all the other cheerleaders joining in too, "don't be sorry, that girl was a pain, at least now I can share out these without her shouting at me." She pulled out a box from her bag.  
Inside were beignets, all fresh and covered in icing sugar, obviously unhealthy; the dark girl placed one of the pastries on Carlos's desk before going back to her own.  
Carlos spent the rest of the day being slightly unnerved by people smiling at him in the hallways, he recognised some of them that would have normally tried to trip him up or shove him into a door.  
By lunchtime the small De Vil just wanted to hide in the library but Ben insisted he came to the cafeteria, so he reluctantly did; the room was very noisy, smelled of all sorts of foods and was crammed with too many people.  
All the food being served looked like it belonged in a restaurant, not the school cafeteria; lamb with fresh mint, medium rare beef cuts, thick gammon with pineapple, heaps of buttery mash potatoes, large pasta dishes and several types of vegetables.  
Carlos ended up with a little bit of everything on his plate, he wasn't even sure he could eat it all, and he went to find a table.  
Luckily Evie was waving at him from across the room so he carefully picked his way across the cafeteria to her; the blue haired girl was sat with Doug, Mal and Ben.  
"got enough food there?" Mal joked as Carlos sat down.  
The small De Vil looked down at his plate and realised that maybe it was a bit too much, he would waste more of it than eat it; a guilty, sad feeling rested in his stomach, his appetite disappearing.  
Evie shot the other girl a sharp look, immediately noticing the change in Carlos, "he has to eat a lot because we have Gym this afternoon, we'll need our strength." She said a little louder than needed and too a huge bite out of her ice cream covered apple pie.  
Feeling a bit better Carlos started eating his own food and before he knew it he'd eaten everything; sitting back Carlos rubbed his solid belly, he'd never been so full in his life and he never wanted to move again.  
Unfortunately Evie had been right, they had Gym with Mr Phil; he was a built man with skinny legs and a silly goatee beard.  
Carlos hated Gym, mainly because he usually ended up hurt one way or another, but now he had to go into the locker room.  
Reluctenly, and pushing all thoughts out of his head, the small De Vil went into the locker room and only went he opened his bag he realised that he didn't have his Gym kit and he refused to wear something out of lost & found.  
"Mr Phil?" Carlos knocked on the door to the little office.  
The Gym teacher was scrolling through pictures of very well endowed women on his computer and didn't look even slightly embarrassed at being caught, "what?"  
Carlos wrung his hands nervously, "I hadn't got my kit."  
"whatever." Mr Phil shrugged, "you're excused this once, after everything that's happened." And he turned back to his computer.  
So Carlos sat by the wall with Doug, who had bad asthma, watching all the others play basketball; it was exhausting just watching them.  
"what are you going to do now?" Doug suddenly asked.  
"homework probably." Carlos shrugged.  
The son of Dopey laughed lightly, "no, I mean are you going home or what?"  
"oh." Was all Carlos could think to say; he hadn't really thought about going home, his mother would be beyond mad but on the other hand Ben had said he could stay with him.  
"I guess I'll go back to Ben's." Carlos said quietly.  
"forever?" Doug looked serious.  
Carlos shifted uncomfortably, "of course not." He snapped, "please stop asking."  
Luckily Doug got the message and carried on with his own work; before long Gym was over and everyone left.  
Carlos waited in the hallway for Mal, missing Jay greatly, but Ben arrived first, smelling greatly of sweat, "showers are out of order." The blond mumbled and Carlos flushed red.  
"um, Ben?" the small De Vil cleared his throat, "am I okay to stay another night?" he refused to look the other boy in the eye.  
Ben smiled kindly, "of course, I already said it was for as long as you needed." "thank you." Carlos whispered, shifting uncomfortably.  
The rest of the day went past without incident, Carlos realised he had a lot of free time in class because he wasn't doing Mal's work too, until it was finally time to go home.  
Clogworths collected him and Ben in the black government car.  
"I'll call you later." Ben whispered to Mal before kissing her lightly on the cheek.  
"I'm guessing you broke up with Audrey." Carlos asked when they were in the car.  
Ben turned a shade of pink but smiled, "yeah, finally." He laughed nervously, "I can treat Mal properly now."  
"she'll like that." Carlos hummed; even though Mal acted tough she was actually very sensitive and wanted to be looked after.  
It was only Belle home when the boys arrived so they all sat in the library reading and doing homework; the silence was comforting and Carlos relished in the atmosphere that surrounded him.

Meanwhile across Auradon two teens were planning something awful.


	16. Chapter 15

The next couple of days passed without incident, it was just difficult for Carlos to adjust; he still woke up before the sun but he helped Lumiere make breakfast and at school he was still getting used to not being bullied.  
Ben had given the small De Vil a cell phone with several numbers in, including Jay's, so he could call to be picked up whenever Ben had Tourney practice, instead of waiting around.  
Carlos loved the kind atmosphere of the Beast household; when he got in from school he and Belle would read in her library before all joining together for dinner where they would make pleasant convocation and then all retire for the night.  
It was a nice routine and Carlos could defiantly get used to it.  
It was the night before Jay would be allowed back at school after his suspension, Carlos hadn't spoken to him since he had left but he could feel butterflies in his stomach whenever he thought about seeing him at Auradon Prep in the morning.  
"did you see the paper today?" Beast asked as they ate dinner.  
Belle produced the paper from beside her; on the front cover was Cinderella and Brair Rose, the news that their children had bullied someone had obviously got out to the press, they were talking about how disappointed they were and how they were going to help victems of abuse.  
There was the mandatory coverage of Carlos, which he had ignored, and his mother but it said nothing that he didn't already know; Beast had refused to allow press in his home or office for interviews.  
"there's a lot of criticism on their part." Belle hummed, scanning the page.  
The mother's had come under fire on their parenting but it had all simply come down to 'you can't watch your children all the time, they have to make their own mistakes' and no reputation had been lost.  
They fell back into silence, enjoying the beef and pork stew dinner; part of Carlos wanted to message Jay, tell him how excited he was about seeing him again, what he had been up to those past days and generally just talk to him but he resisted because he felt a bit silly.  
There was a sudden rumbling sound outside, stopping Carlos mid-bite, it reminded him of the sound his mother's car made but he quickly corrected himself since Cruella had no idea where he was.  
Loud banging on the door stopped everyone eating, "I'll get it sir." Clogsworth said and retreated.  
Beast checked his watch, "who could be calling at this time of night?" he mumbled.  
"you didn't forget anything at the office did you dear?" Belle hummed, still reading the paper.  
Suddenly there was shouting from the foyar, the sharp click of heels of marble before the dining room door was flung violently open.  
"Carlos, baby!" Cruella shrieked with a wide, fake smile.  
Carlos choked on his food at the sight of his mother, flinching back in his seat and wanting nothing more than to run away.  
"what are you doing in my home?" Beast growled and stood to face the ex-fashionista.  
Cruella gave a cackling laugh, "darlings please, I'm here to take my little Carlos home, I've missed him."  
A shot of hope took over Carlos, "really mom?" he found himself asking.  
Ben was watching him with a worried look, about ready to fly across the table to pull him away.  
Cruella stamped across the dining room to him, "of course." She said touching his cheek, "my roots need doing and my furs haven't been fluffed in forever." Cruella added in as softly.  
Sadness slammed into Carlos's stomach, he felt stupid that his mother had actually missed him, "I'm not coming back." He told her sternly.  
Cruella looked shocked that her tiny son had spoken back to her but she was holding her anger in while she had an audience.  
Instead she gave a strained smile, "but Carlos, you've imposed on these people for long enough." She said in a sickly sweet voice.  
The thought had already been in the small De Vil's mind but whenever he walked through the door the Beast's always made him forget about it, however now someone had said his fear out load it was pounding around in his brain.  
"He isn't imposing on anyone." Beast growled.  
Cruella waved him off, "come home Carlos." She hummed before leaning closer, "you don't belong here, you know that right?"  
The past couple of days were becoming a blur, now dull as Carlos realised how right his mother was; he wasn't kind or rich or talented, he didn't belong in the main State of Auradon.  
"it's all a plan on their part." Cruella continued to whisper into her son's ear, "take in a poor bullied kid and make themselves look good."  
Belle suddenly pulled the skeleton-like woman away, "what are you saying to him." She snapped and placed both hands on Carlos's shoulders, "you don't have to go with her dear." Belle told him softly, her eyes shining with tears.  
Carlos looked at Belle, all gentle and clever, a perfect mother and glanced at his own mother who was now lighting a long cigarette, she was brash and cruel.  
"you don't belong here." A voice echoed in his head.  
As much as his body craved to be away from his mother Carlos's brain wouldn't allow him so he slowly removed Belle's hands.  
"I'll come home mom." Carlos said quietly.  
"no Carlos!" Ben shot around the table, "we can protect you here."  
The small De Vil refused to look anyone in the eye because he knew they would be able to persuade him to stay and he simply couldn't allow himself to.  
Carlos followed his mother out of the townhouse; it was icy cold outside but he refused to take one of Ben's coats, Cruella's car was badly parked across the drive with the engine still running.  
Glancing back at the townhouse he saw Beast, Belle and Ben standing in the doorway, looking worried and angry, as well as some of the staff behind them.  
Carlos felt sickeningly sad about leaving, he really had started getting used to living in a nice house with an actual bed to sleep in and he knew the second he got back to Hell Hall he would never see daylight again.  
"bye darlings!" Cruella called to the Beast's, a smug winning smile on her face, before climbing into the car.  
"see you at school Carlos." Ben shouted.  
The small De Vil nodded and climbed into the passenger seat.  
Cruella grabbed Carlos's wrist tightly, her nails digging into his skin, "like hell am I letting you out of my sight again." She hissed.


	17. Chapter 16

"run away from me, you little runt." Cruella spat as she drove dangerously through town, "after all the care and attention I gave you."  
Carlos held on tight to the seat, trying not to be thrown around too much as his mother took sharp turns and listening to her mumble how ungrateful he was.  
"how did you even know where I was?" Carlos managed to ask.  
Cruella sped up to pass a bus, another car coming the other away, "I got a phone call from one of your little friends." She shot him a nasty look.  
Finally the end of the main State was coming closer, the warm lights disappearing and a sudden fight appeared in Carlos.  
"stop the car!" he shouted, already unbuckling himself.  
"not a chance." His mother scream, a bony hand shooting out to grip his arm.  
Carlos wriggled in her grip, making her driving more erratic, "let me go! I want to get out!"  
At that moment Carlos knew that he wanted to live a proper life, exactly like the one he had chance to taste with Ben and he also had to hear what Jay wanted to tell him in the morning.  
For the first time the small De Vil wanted away from his mother not just to see the next day but to see all the others to follow and to live them with people he cared about and who cared about him.  
Carlos sunk his teeth deep into Cruella's wrist and she let go with a shriek; trying to door it was locked tight so Carlos pulled at the soft top of the car.  
The car was so old the roof pulled up with little force; the wind whipped at Carlos's thin face, making his eyes water immediately but he still pulled himself up to sit on the window.  
"sit down you runt!" Cruella screamed.  
Her hair was wilder than ever being blown about by the wind and her eyes had turned crazy.  
"stop the car or I'll jump!" Carlos threatened, his hands becoming slick with sweat and making it harder to grip the frame of the car.  
Cruella had all but let go of the wheel, they were hurtling down the dark road without a cause, "you jump and you'll die!" she countered.  
"I'd rather die than live with you again!" Carlos shouted.  
The cold air had made one half of his face go numb and the road was moving impossibly fast but Carlos still let go of the car and fell backwards.  
Curling into a ball Carlos allowed the shock of hitting the moving ground vibrate though his body he soon found himself still moving along the road as his momento slowed down.  
Carlos bounded off the road a few times, hitting his leg and arm hard before coming to a skidding halt face first on the tarmac.  
Panting Carlos managed to pull himself up just in time to see his mother's car disappear off the road and into a low ditch; moments later it exploded.  
For a long time the small De Vil didn't move, still not sure what had happened, he just stared at the blazing inferno that used to be his mother's car, and his mother, spitting fire into the dark night.  
It wasn't until Carlos heard a phone ringing did he manage to pull his mind back to earth; everything hurt but mostly his leg which looked at bit broken, his arm was at a funny angle too and his face was dripping blood badly.  
Managing to pull the phone from his pocket, the screen smashed but still usable, he could make out that Ben was calling him.  
"hello." Carlos wheezed into the phone.  
"Carlos! Give me the address to your house." Ben said in a rush, "we're gunna come get you, we'll bring the police too, we shouldn't have let you leave the house."  
Carlos felt a rush of happiness, glad he had a good friend, "thanks but I'm not home." He managed to say.  
There was a beat of silence, "where are you?" Ben finally asked.  
Squinting in through the fire light Carlos saw that they weren't even halfway down the road to the South, "I'm just outside Auradon."  
There was rustling on the other end of the phone, "why did you guys stop?" Ben asked.  
"we didn't, I jumped out and my mother drove into a ditch." Carlos explained simply, "you can probably see the flames."  
Silence followed, just Ben shouting something to his dad and more rustling of clothes.  
"Ben." Carlos's vision was starting to blur, "I'm feeling kind of dizzy."  
"are you hurt dear?" Belle shouted from the background.  
Carlos touched his burning face, more than half of it was scraped up, blood was staining his pale skin and clothes, "I'm bleeding." He said simply.  
"we'll be there in a bit, just hold up." There was slamming of car doors, "will we be able to see you easily?"  
The small De Vil was still sat where he had fallen, in the middle of the road, luckily it was never a busy road at night, "yeah, you'll see me."  
"stay on the phone, just talk to me." Ben instructed.  
However before he could say anything else his phone beeped, checking it wasn't out of battery Carlos pulled it away from his ear, and Ben's comforting voice, to see what was wrong.  
Jay was calling him.


	18. Chapter 17

Without a second thought Carlos answered Jay's call, automatically putting Ben on hold, an excited feeling rising in his stomach.  
"Carlos, where are you? My dad just told me your crazy mother has gone to collect you!" Jay sounded distressed.  
Despite the pain in his face and the wreckage of his mother burning bright the small De Vil smiled softly, "I'm fine." He managed to say.  
"so she hasn't found you?" Jay asked quickly.  
"no she found me." Carlos confessed.  
The Arabian sighed deeply, swearing too, "when you get back I'll break you out, I promise."  
Carlos's heart gave a little flutter, "there's no need, she crashed the car." He told Jay.  
For a long moment Jay was quiet on the other end, probably trying to process what he had been told, "crashed? What the hell! Tell me that first!" Jay shouted down the phone, "are you hurt?"  
"yeah, quite a lot really." The small De Vil told him as calmly as he could.  
Jay swore loudly, "and where's your mom?" he finally asked.  
Carlos looked up at the wreckage, still crackling and blazing away, spitting higher and he felt no sadness that his mother was obviously dead.  
"she's still in the car." Carlos said softly.  
There was the sound of a window being opened on the other end of the phone, "where are you? I'll come get you." Jay said sternly.  
"no need, Ben's coming." The small De Vil told him.  
As if on cue headlights appeared on the road, followed by blue flashing lights of an ambulance; before the government car had stopped Ben was climbing out.  
"Carlos!" he shouted, running towards him, Belle close behind.  
The pair fell to their knees beside him, worry etched hard on their faces.  
"I'll speak to you later Jay." Carlos said casually and hung up before the Arabian could say anything.  
Belle began dabbing his blooded face, trying to be careful but it was hard to tell which part of his face was creating the blood, "oh you poor boy." She gasped softly.  
"where's your mother?" Beast asked, two paramedics behind him.  
"in there." Carlos pointed to the fiery wreckage.  
All eyes swivelled to the flames for a moment before the paramedics began looking Carlos over; they worked quickly, he had defiantly broken his leg so they lifted him onto a stretcher before bundling him into the back of the ambulance.  
"what were you thinking? Jumping out of a moving vehicle." One of the paramedics, frowning as he strapped down his leg.  
"better this," Carlos said gesturing to his still messy face, "than that." He pointed out at the flames.  
Ben and Belle climbed into the back of the ambulance with him while Beast drove the car behind.  
"well done on your quick thinking." Belle said, dabbing his face once more.  
Carlos smiled, he's never been praised before, but it may have had something to do with the medication now pumping through his veins.  
It wasn't long before the small De Vil started feeling sleepy and slipped into darkness, the sound of his phone ringing in his pocket.  
When he finally came back to reality Carlos was in a large white room, it was filled with flowers and blocks of chocolates, the machine he was attached to was beeping rhythmically and he was alone.  
Carlos gently touched his face, there were some stitches above his eyebrow and across his cheek but it was mostly little scabs; his other arm was strapped in a red plaster cast, as was his leg, right up to his upper thigh.  
The door opened with a soft click and a tanned woman entered, she had dark hair and a sisterly face.  
"oh, you're awake." She looked surprised but smiled quickly, "hello, I'm Dr Nani, how are you feeling?"  
Carlos tried to sit up but decided quickly it was a bad idea, "I ache." He managed.  
Dr Nani adjusted the drip attached to his arm, "you've been very lucky, more resilient that you look." She laughed kindly.  
"did they find my mom?" Carlos suddenly asked.  
He still felt no emotion about her death but he cared about respect; Dr Nani shot him a sad look, "oh honey." She seemed to be struggling to find the right words.  
"was there much left?" he said.  
Dr Nani shook her head so Carlos quickly thanked her and she left while writing notes onto a clipboard.  
For a while Carlos lay in the bed staring at the ceiling, wondering what to do, he finally decided to eat the huge bar of chocolate on his bedside table; there was note attached from Evie.  
Enjoy this and I'll see you when you wake up. P.S. Jay is still in the waiting room.  
Carlos frowned and took a huge, teeth clenching bite of chocolate just as the door flew open and a rumpled look Jay entered.  
"you're finally awake." Jay exclaimed, a relieved look rushing over his handsome features.  
The Arabian strode across the room, instantly gripping the back of Carlos's neck with a firm hand before pausing in his actions; Carlos desperately tried to swallow the chocolate but it had become thick and sticky.  
"do you know how worried I was?" Jay spoke in a low voice, "I left for less than three days and you end up in hospital."  
The small De Vil wanted to tell him that it wasn't Jay's fault this had happened, even the President had been unable to stop it but his mouth was practically glued shut.  
Jay continued, still not broken eye contact, "when you told me your batty mother had found you-" he swore.  
At long last Carlos swallowed the chocolate, "it's not your fault! My mother was the one who-"  
Carlos was cut off by Jay pressing his slightly chapped lips to his own; too shocked to do anything the small De Vil paused his whole body and allowed Jay to kiss him.  
That being said Carlos was enjoying the warmth of Jay being so close, the affection being poured from one human being to another and the realisation of his own feelings for Jay.  
After what seemed like one long dream Jay pulled away, "sorry." He mumbled, "I shouldn't have done that." He went to pull away.  
Carlos immediately grabbed him with his good hand, stopping him quickly, "I liked it." He told him with a small smile.  
Jay laughed nervously and Carlos allowed him to pull away, "I guess I don't have to tell you that I really like you then." The Arabian gripped the smaller hand still on his arm.  
Happiness swelled in Carlos's heart, it was almost painful, he'd never felt love like he felt at that moment and tears sprang to his eyes as he couldn't handle the emotions.  
"I properly like you too." Carlos sobbed.  
"you soppy moron." Jay said before embracing the small De Vil as tightly as he dared


	19. Chapter 18

The pair didn't speak much after that, they shared some of the hundreds of bars of chocolate before Jay was asked to leave by Dr Nani.

"why am I being kept in?" Carlos asked the doctor as she checked his vitals.

"you hit the road pretty hard." Dr Nani told him.

Carlos frowned, last time he had hurt himself bad enough that his mother had been forced to take him to be treated he was in and out within the hour; not that the doctors in the South of Auradon were very good.

"plus, President Beast wants you safely away from the press." The Hawaiian doctor added.

Of course the press were crawling all over the story; in her hay-day Cruella had been on many magazines and owned a huge empire so her sudden, violent death took people by interest but Carlos had no idea why.

Carlos had woken up shortly after lunch so when dinner arrived he gladly tucked in; carrot and coriander soup, followed by lasagne and finally sticky toffee pudding.

Dr Nani watched him with interest, writing slowly on her clipboard, "have you been eating well?" she suddenly asked.

Stopping halfway through ripping some bread apart Carlos looked up, "for the past three days yeah." He told her honestly.

"and before that?" the doctor asked carefully.

Carlos shrugged, "as and when." Before going back to dipping the bread into his soup.

The small De Vil was allowed to finish his dinner in peace, he found a book that Belle had left for him and emerged himself into its pages while trying to eat his pudding.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, a blue haired orderly poked his head around the door, "you have visitors." He said, his pointed teeth grinning.

Excitement leapt through Carlos, he hoped it was Jay coming back, and felt slightly disappointed when Cinderella swept into the room.

"hello pumpkin." Cinderella smiled softly, she was wearing a pink dress with a huge bow on the back.

"hello Mrs Charming." The small De Vil greeted.

Then another person entered the room and Carlos felt sick all over; it was Chad.

Shrinking back instantly Carlos wanted to hide under the covers, panic gripped his throat so tight he couldn't speak.

"please don't panic." Cinderella quickly approached him, her small hand taking his, "but he does have something to tell you."

Carlos didn't want to hear what Chad, who looked thinner than before, had to say for himself, even if he said 'sorry' a million times it didn't make a difference.

"don't bother." Carlos found himself spitting.

The socialite's hold tightened slightly, "it is very important." She insisted.

Carlos glared at the guilty looking Chad, he was still standing by the door and was looking at anything in the room but Carlos.

"Chad." Cinderella snapped, "tell him what you did."

For a moment there was silence until Chad managed to clear his throat noisily and mumbled something no-one else could hear.

"louder Chad." His mother hissed, her teeth clenched.

Carlos wondered why Cinderella was getting Chad to confess to something, the only thing he had surely done recently was bully the small De Vil.

"I was the one who phoned your mother." Chad finally said louder.

Carlos's heart beat painfully for a second; true he hadn't felt bad because his mother had died but now he knew that someone, other than herself, had sentence her to that fate pained Carlos.

Chad was still talking, "it was me and Audrey. We figured if she came and got you then you'd never be allowed back at school and then we could go back."

"so it's your fault my mom is dead." Carlos stated flatly.

Cinderella was crying softly.

Charming Jr lost all colour in his face, "no! it was just –"

"if you hadn't told her where I was the she never would have found you." Carlos cut across him sharply.

A guilty, scoffing laugh escaped Chad, "I'm sure she would have eventually."

"no, she wouldn't have cared, she'd been too lazy to look." The small De Vil corrected him quickly.

Chad huffed, looking lost and distressed, "I'm sorry man." He said sincerely.

"you're not forgiven." Carlos said instantly.

Both Charmings' looked surprised so Carlos continued softly, "you sent my mother to me in a rage and she nearly killed me, she would have done even if we'd ever made it home. If you hadn't been selfish, none of this would have happened. This is your fault."

Tears were shining in Chad's eyes, "I, I didn't mean to." He choked out, breathing hard.

"but you did and now you have to live with that for the rest of your life." The small De Vil felt a bit bad for saying all that to Chad but he needed a huge dose of reality.

Sniffing loudly Cinderella stood, "these are the consequences of your actions." She said to Chad.

Chad's blue eyes ran over Carlos's broken arm and leg, his scraped up face and finally to his serious look; he nodded his understanding, a heavy weight on his heart.

The second the door closed Carlos burst into noisy tears, stress and pressure leaving him with every sob, he allowed the tears to flow freely, stinging his cuts but all he really felt was relief.

He was so busy crying he didn't hear the door open again or the sound of heels crossing the room quickly; he did feel the arms wrap around him tightly and the smell of apples invading his sense.

"don't cry darling." Evie whispered, "everything is going to be okay."

Pulling away Carlos managed a wet laugh, tears still coming, "I kn-kn-know it is-s."

Placing the huge book on the bed Evie took out a handkerchief and dabbed away his tears, "you've done so well." She told him, "and with a bit of make-up we can cover these up." Evie gestured to his cut up face.

Carlos couldn't help but laugh, his tears being replaced with laughter, soon Evie joined in as his laughter as infections simply because he was genuinely happy


	20. Chapter 19

Evie hadn't been allowed to stay long so Carlos buried himself deeper into the covers and picked up the book she had brought; it was a fairytale book.

Carlos frowned, his mother's story was in the book and he wasn't sure if he wanted to read it properly; once when he was younger the young De Vil had the story thrown at his head when he dared to bring it home.

Slowly he opened the book, Malefincent's was first but it revolved around Briar Rose who looked nothing like the picture in the book.

Near the back was Cruella's story, told from the point of view of two Dalmatians; sadly it did depict his mother very well, fur crazy and determined as long as it benefited her.

"Mr De Vil?" it was the blue haired orderly again, his tattoo of '626' visible on his wrist, "I know it's late but you have more visitors."

Instantly closing the book Carlos sat up carefully and hoped it wasn't Brair Rose with Audrey in tow but it wasn't.

A middle aged couple entered, they looked very reserved; the woman was petite with a pheasant feather in her smart hat and her glasses thick.

The man was tall and gangly with quite a big nose, "hello young man." He greeted with a british accent.

"we're the Radcliffe's." the woman added, "I'm Anita and this is Roger."

"nice to meet you." Carlos said politely, wondering why they were visiting him.

It had accrued to the small De Vil that they could be police or social services, since he was still under age but he knew Beast wouldn't have allowed them near him.

"I used to work for your mother." Anita told him, taking off her hat to revel mousey brown hair.

Carlos observed the woman, he's seen lots of his mother's previous workers and they all looked slightly on edge all the time but Anita appeared perfectly fine.

"poor you." Was all he could say.

Roger cleared his throat, "we heard about what happened to her."

Slowly Carlos nodded, "well, I think everyone has." He looked away from them.

"dear, do you have any more family?" Anita suddenly asked.

Carlos looked up surprised, "I'm living with President Beast, they've been very kind to me." He rambled out.

Maybe they really were social workers; Roger was leafing through the fairytale book with a frown when a small puppy popped out of his shoulder bag.

Immediately Carlos took the puppy out, it had a few little spots but was still quite young and snuffled around the bed before snuggling into Carlos's lap.

"he's the runt of our litter." Roger told him, "we bred Dalmatians in our spare time."

"Carlos, do you know where any of your family is?" Anita pressed.

Shifting uncomfortably Carlos looked at the woman beside him and could see in her face she wouldn't let the matter drop, "I don't have any more family, I have no idea who my father is and I have no intention of looking." He said flatly.

"well, why don't you come and live with us?" Anita asked carefully.

Carlos was silent for a while, feeling the warmth of the puppy, "why?" was the only thing he could think to say.

The Radcliffe's shifted uncomfortably, "we headed the rally that drove your mother away." Roger finally said.

"as stupid as that fairytale is," Anita continued, picking up the huge book, "she really did try to buy our newest litter to make a very 'fashionable hat'"

That sounded very much like his mother but he guessed that the stories had to of held some kind of truth since their protagonists were real people.

"you don't seem like your mother." Roger commented, "sure you're related?"

"Roger!" Anita snapped, looking horrified.

"it's okay." Carlos jumped in, picking the puppy up to rest on his chest.

It seemed like a lifetime ago when the small De Vil had been terrified of dogs but being around Dude at the Beast's and he had done some proper reading Carlos just wanted to know more and more about the canines.

"and thank you for your kind offer but I'm okay for now." Carlos told them.

Carlos knew he couldn't live with Ben forever but hopefully he's be able to find somewhere to live after he finished school and maybe Jay would live there with him too.

The Radcliffe's looked at each other, "if you're sure." Anita said slowly, "but the offer is always there."

Slowly the couple got ready to leave, the small De Vil was starting to feel tired and the tiny puppy sleeping in the crook of his neck wasn't helping.

"see you later." Anita left first so Carlos shifted to hand the puppy back to Roger.

"keep him, he'll keep you company." Roger smiled and left too.

Carlos carefully looked down at the puppy, it was probably more expensive than anything then had ever owned, but the little thing was his and he would look after the runt properly.

After all he knew what it felt like to be the runt of the litter.

The orderly turned off the lights in the room around ten that night, leaving the television on but silent, so Carlos slowly drifted off to sleep, the puppy snoring under his arm.

Suddenly the window was being opened from the outside, the icy air cutting through the heated room; Carlos lay perfectly still, wondering if he could knock someone out with his casts, but didn't have time to move as the puppy sunk their teeth into the hand that was stretching out from the darkness.

"ow, rotten!" the person exclaimed.

They finally stepped into the light of the television; it was Jay.


	21. Chapter 20

At the sight of Jay the small De Vil wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around his muscular frame and hug him tighter than he ever thought possible.

Of course Carlos couldn't even move from the bed so he allowed Jay to embrace him, not as tight as he would have liked but Carlos felt instant comfort from having him near.

"I'm glad you're back." Carlos whispered.

Jay didn't answer, he just placed a warm kiss on Carlos's temple; the puppy still seemed a bit wary of the intruder so he wriggled his way between them.

"when did you get a dog?" Jay asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and lightly poking the puppy.

Carlos petted the puppy, "today. A couple called the Radcliffe's came and offered me a place to live." He said as casually as he could.

"what did you say?" Jay was frowning.

The young De Vil shrugged, "I told them thanks but no thanks."

Jay picked up the fairytale book, quickly skimming over his father's story, to look at the pictures of the 'fictional Radcliffe's' , "weird to think they're real people." He mumbled softly.

It was still late and Carlos was still tired so he lay back on his pillows, just watching Jay under the light of the television; a glorious fluttering feeling swirled around the small De Vil's insides and he couldn't stop the goofy smile crossing his face.

"are you going back to Hell Hall?" Jay suddenly asked.

Carlos paused, he hadn't really thought about what would happen to his mother's house, or all of her belongings, he guessed that they were all his now and he had to decide what to do with it all.

"no." Carlos said immediately.

It was the truth, he didn't want that house where he had been abused by his mother, where it would be filled with memories of Cruella and Carlos wanted nothing to do with it.

"I don't want it." The small De Vil added sternly, "burn it for all I care."

Suddenly Jay was kissing him and his mind when blank; it didn't last as long as he had hoped but the Arabian looked pleased with himself.

"had to stop you making that face." Jay told him teasingly.

With a blank, happy mind Carlos found himself falling asleep, Jay by his side holding his good hand tightly and the puppy snoozing again on his stomach.

"—I told you you're not allowed to be here overnight!" someone was shouting.

Carlos woke with a start; it was morning and Dr Nani was hitting Jay with her clipboard, the puppy barking around her ankles.

"but he was lonely without me!" Jay protested, protecting his head from the violent doctor.

Dr Nani delivered a finaly blow, nearly knocking Jay off his feet, before standing with hands on her hips, "he was asleep. You're lucky I don't call security."

"don't do that." Carlos said loudly.

Dr Nani smiled gently at him, "Mr De Vil, you're awake." She said softly, "President Beast is here to see you."

Beast entered in a crisp dark blue suit but he had more worry lines than before, "how are you doing?" he asked.

"okay, still aching but okay." Carlos said truthfully, "do I have to stay here any longer?"

Clearing his throat nosily Beast looked anxious, "no you don't, I've come to take you back to my home." He said in a very business-like way.

Carlos smiled and began to climb out of the bed, as best he could but it was proving difficult with his casts.

"here." Mal was suddenly behind him.

"take my arm." Evie took his good arm and pulled him up slowly.

"mind his arm." Jay warned.

Carlos smiled as his friends helped him, he hadn't even heard them come into the room but he was grateful.

Jay and Ben helped the small De Vil get dressed in a shirt, red vest and black & white stripped shorts that just fit over his huge cast.

Leaving the hospital Carlos felt strange; he was surrounded by his friends but they were all silent, stiff as they marched through the sparking halls.

Carlos managed carefully on one crutch, the puppy bounding playfully at his side, but as they excited the hospital they were bombarded with shouting and lightbulbs flashing.

Mal, Evie, Jay and Ben squeezed tighter around Carlos, Jay scooped up the puppy so they could move easier.

Panic spread through Carlos, he had no idea who those people where who were shouting his name so he kept his head down and followed Mal's boots.

A limo was waiting for them, the group split to let Carlos's in first and Jay handed the puppy over.

"Carlos! Over here!" Someone close shouted and the small De Vil instantly looked up.

A flash of light nearly blinded him, in his blindness he could hear a scuffle, before someone manhandled him into the limo.

"are you okay Carlos?" it was Evie.

Her dress was yellow and blue swirls with light layers, she looked stern but worried, "all those nasty journalists." She spat.

"what are they doing here?" Carlos rubbed his eyes.

Evie sighed deeply, Ben tumbled into the car, "they've been all over your story, it's disgusting."

Carlos frowned, what had there been to write about the incident, it all seemed so pointless but he was intrigued as to what they had been saying.

Finally Mal and Jay threw themselves into the limo, swearing at the press, before it drove away.

"absolute scum." Mal hissed.

The puppy was cowering on Carlos's shoulder, he shifted uncomfortably; it felt like he was causing more trouble but he didn't voice his problem.

Carlos propped his bright red cast across one of the long seats and was handed some peanut butter cups but he had eaten so much chocolate the past day he chewed it slowly.

"dad tried to make it as easy as possible but the press are like vultures." Ben explained, chewing a piece of hard candy.

Mal snorted, "even vultures know when to get lost."

"will they go away soon?" Carlos asked softly.

All the young De Vil wanted to do was go to school, read with Belle, have a nice relationship with Jay and have a proper life that he had been denied.

Nobody said a word, Jay took his hand tightly and they carried on driving through Auradon.


	22. Chapter 21

Belle had converted one of the rooms downstairs into a bedroom for Carlos; there was one of the oak beds with plenty of pillows, five stacks of books and the curtains practically sown shut.

Everyone stayed for dinner, handmade macaroni cheese with bacon topping, something easy for Carlos to eat one handed.

It was late before Mal, Evie and Jay went home, driven by Clogworths, the small De Vil waved them away sadly but could already feel excitement building in his stomach for school the next day.

"I've phoned the school, you'll have to stay in the library with Alice." Beast told him as he sipped a hot chocolate.

Carlos nodded, "I like Alice." He said and it was true, he didn't have a wrong word for the weird librarian.

The bed that Belle had arranged was very comfortable but Carlos felt as though he might get lost in the mountain of pillows and blankets, and it was all so soft he could barely sit up to read his book but he was more than grateful for the comfort.

In the morning Carlos took his time getting out of bed, taking pleasure in the quiet, but when he hobbled into the dining room there was a tense air.

Lumiere, Clogsworth and Belle were staring at the morning paper but none of them looked happy.

"what's wrong?" Carlos asked as he fell into one of the chairs.

Belle jumped a little, she quickly folded the paper and sent one of her best smiles Carlos's way, "it's nothing."

Frowning Carlos tried to see the paper but Belle practically hid it under the table, "please show me."

The three swapped anxious looks and it made anger well up in Carlos, "you don't have to protect me from everything." He added through clenched teeth.

Belle sighed and handed over the paper; on the front was a huge photo of Carlos from the day before, holding the puppy, Buddy, and about to get into the limo.

The small De Vil had never seen a proper photo of himself, his mother wasn't keen on taking his picture so he just got along, but he didn't realise he was so skinny or how much his freckles really stood out.

Is Carlos turning into the next Cruella?

The headline was full of itself, it made no sense, so he dared to read the attached article:

Carlos De Vil, aged 15, left hospital three days after being involved in the car crash that killed his fashionista mother, Cruella De Vil; according to our inside source his leg is broken in four places and his arm has a clean break at the elbow.

Surround by his friends from the South of Auradon, and the son of President Beast, all aged 16, it was impossible to get an interview as security to his hospital room and President Beast's townhouse, where De Vil is currently staying, has been enhanced.

Carlos De Vil was spotted with a new addition under his arm; a young Dalmatian puppy.

The Dalmatian breed were a desire of Cruella's who's last project was to create the perfect winter hat from several Dalmatian puppies owned by Roger & Anita Radcliffe.

All her efforts were thwarted by Anti-Fur activists but it appears her son has got his hands on the one thing she lusted after.

The main question is; why does he have the puppy in his possession?

According to another source Carlos De Vil is terrified of dogs, so does he plan to finish what his mother started and make the 'perfect' fur item.

We can only wait and see if Carlos De Vil will take the fashion world by storm with fur lines.

Carlos ripped the paper straight down the middle, angry, hot tears pouring down his flushed face; how dare they assume those things and who were all these sources?

"Adam!" Belle called as soon as she saw Carlos's face.

Beast pocked his head around the door, phone to his ear, "I'm on it darling."

Carlos wanted to express his anger somehow, crying was pointless, he wanted to scream and smash something, he flinched violently as something licked his ankle.

It was Buddy and Dude who had come to steal some breakfast and one look at their innocent, furry faces all his anger dissolved.

Carlos didn't want to feel that anger, that was the anger Cruella always felt and it had driven her insane and for the first time in his life the young De Vil knew he was better than that.

"can I go to school now?" he asked Belle.

The beauty looked up, worry etching her face, she was biting her thumbnail, "now?"

"yes." Carlos answered instantly, "I won't let them win. They can say whatever they want, they'll be wrong."

Belle smiled, "good idea." She said and helped him to his feet.

"bet it was Audrey who was one of the sources." Ben whispered to his mother before they went out the door.

Jay and Mal were already in the car, not a single member of the press in sight, Evie messaged them to say she was meeting Doug early.

"you see that paper?" Mal hissed and Ben shot her a disapproving look.

"not now Mal." Jay warned.

Carlos sighed deeply, "it's fine, I'm just going to ignore it all."

Mal was frowning, "but it's all bull—" Ben slapped a hand over her mouth to stop her swearing.

"they want a rise out of me and I refuse. They want to spread lies but we all know the truth." The young De Vil petted Buddy who he had snuck in his schoolbag.

Jay wrapped his arm around Carlos's shoulders and pulled him close, "you're such a good person." He whispered and kissed his freckled cheek.


	23. Chapter 22

As Carlos made his way through the hallways he kept his head down, not because he felt any embarrassment about what had happened to him but because he couldn't stand the looks people were giving him; pitying looks followed by hushed convocations while pointing his way.

Jay stayed close by, almost trying to shield the small De Vil from their prying eyes but his bright red casts and yapping puppy stood out too much.

Suddenly the whole group of cheerleaders were in front of them, Evangeline stood there with her twin brother, Ray, who was acting as mascot that year.

"welcome back!" they all cheered.

Carlos immediately blushed red, not sure which smiling face to look at first, and before he could say anything Evangeline handed Jay a huge container of pastries, "they're for the rest of the day." She informed the small De Vil with a little wink.

"that was weird." Jay laughed, already biting into one of the pastries.

Carlos nodded, people being nice to him was certainly an odd feeling but he was sure he would get used to it, maybe one day.

"see you after first lesson." Jay said as soon as they got to the library.

"no, no skipping class." Carlos warned, "I'll see you at lunch."

Jay stuck his lip out but one look on the young De Vil's face told him not to argue and with one final, gentle kiss they parted ways.

Librarian Alice was wearing a white dress covered in little playing cards, she smiled kindly and allowed Carlos to choose his own place to sit before approaching him.

"you missed some work." Alice told him and placed several worksheets in front of him.

It was all basic stuff from his lessons but he still asked for some books for research and Alice happily collected them, placing more air fresheners as she went.

Finally silence took over the library, both residents writing their own things; every twenty minutes Alice would bring over a little china cup of tea, each time in a different cup.

Buddy sniffed around the whole library before climbing back into Carlos's bag and falling asleep.

As third period started a pair of girls entered, all chatting and giggling; Lonnie Li was wearing a martial arts style outfit, inspired by her martial arts trainer mother Mulan.

Jane GodMother was beside her, her dull brown hair in a bob and a huge bow at the neck of her dress.

They both stopped dead at the sight of Carlos but he ignored them; Lonnie had been Audrey's best friend and she still seemed a bit bitter about her being expelled.

"did you see the paper this morning Jane." Lonnie said loudly.

Jane dutifully pulled out that mornings paper, brandishing it so Carlos saw his own face staring back, but he quickly went back to his work.

"this paper is never wrong." Jane added just as loudly.

"quiet. You'll annoy the flowers." Librarian Alice snapped.

Both girls shot her a mocking look before they approached Carlos.

"so they let you back in the school?" Lonnie sneered.

Carlos finished the sentence he was writing, "I'm not the one who was bullying."

"she was only playing." Lonnie bared her teeth.

"they don't expel people for nothing. You're lucky I don't tell them about the time you stuffed me in that bin and duct taped it shut." The young De Vil knew it was a low blow but he would be dammed if he let himself be bullied again.

The Oriental girl turned bright red, "why you little…" and she went to strike him.

Librarian Alice was there in an instant, gripping Lonnie's arm tightly, "oysters shouldn't follow lying walrus'." She said sternly.

All three of them looked at her like she was mad, Carlos vaguely remembered Alice's fairytale and how a group of baby oysters were tricked and eaten by a hungry walrus.

"if you're not going to study, then leave." Alice added, letting go of Lonnie's wrist.

Both girls huffed, shot Carlos one last disgusted glance before stomping out of the library; Alice smiled her dreamy smile and placed a chipped cup in front of the young De Vil, this time with a little sugar mouse.

By lunchtime Carlos had finished all the work he had been given so he was relieved when Evie arrived with another load under her arm.

"Jay got detention for trying to climb out the window." She told him and took her seat.

Feeling sad Carlos slowly nibbled on the Cesar salad lunch Evie had brought, soon Doug, Mal and Ben joined them.

"Lonnie was here earlier." Carlos mentioned.

Mal crushed her pudding cup, "we heard, she was boasting in class." She snapped.

"that's why Jay went to climb out the window." Ben added.

"not that her so called friends are on her side." Evie was applying lipgloss in her mirror.

Lunch was over too soon and everyone left, Carlos was alone, even librarian Alice had to leave to run some books to one of the classroom.

The rest of the day dragged, being sat in the same chair was making Carlos's butt go numb and he could barely move about to sort it out; Buddy had chewed the strap of his backpack so badly it broke the instant he picked it up.

Carlos didn't see Jay at the end of the either; the Tourney coach was working the team extra hard because the big game was close.

Once back at the Beast's the young De Vil lay on his belly in front of the fire, that was crackling away gently, watching the huge television on the wall and Belle was knitting close by.

"Belle?" Carlos suddenly said.

Something had been playing on Carlos's mind since that morning and he knew that Belle was sensible enough to give him a proper answer.

Belle glanced up from her knitting, "yes dear? Are you in pain?"

Carlos smiled at her kindness, "no that's all fine. I was wondering, what if I do turn out like my mother?"

There was a thick silence that followed, "is this about what they wrote in the paper?" Belle finally asked, placing down her work to approach him.

"no, I don't care about that, but I am her son so what if I get her temper or I turn into a bully trying to stop people bullying me?" Carlos rushed out, glad his thoughts were out in the open.

Belle sat beside him, she brushed his white-tipped hair back, "I can already tell you what the difference between you and Cruella."

The young De Vil looked at her hopefully, so she continued softly, "she let her anger take over, you know when you've done wrong and you correct yourself."

"but what if –"

"you can spend your live saying 'what if' but they almost never happen, enjoy the opportunities life has given you." Belle said sternly.

Of course what she said was true, Carlos had made sure his anger hadn't bubbled over into violent rage, he always concentrated on something else and no matter what happened he wouldn't allow himself to become Cruella De Vil.


	24. Chapter 23

"Auradon Knights Go! Auradon Knights Win! Auradon Knights Go!" the cheerleaders and half the crowd chanted as they players ran out onto the pitch.

Carlos had a great view from the front, since he couldn't climb the bleaches, so he could see Jay's smile as he waved at the cheering crowd.

The group of cheerleaders, headed by Evangeline, pulled off an impressive routine full of flips and fierce dance moves; they were so much better that the opposing teams' who could just about managed to pull off a slightly wobbly pyramid.

The opposing team were South Warriors, they contained the students had hadn't been able to adjust to Auradon but they were also a huge lot of brutes and bullies.

Ben shook hands with one of the Gaston twins before the teams split off for the game to begin; the game went by so fast Carlos could barely register what was happening.

Jay shot the ball at Fin who was waiting just outside the Kill Zone, who in turn swung the ball high in the air in Ben's direction, all through the Kill Zone the ball was passed between Jay and Ben, each making impressive move to dodge the flying ammo.

"Auradon Knights Go! Auradon Knights Win! Auradon Knights Go!"

Ben made the first goal, just scoring past Umair, the dark son of Ursala the twisted fortune teller, and the whole Auradon crowd burst into cheers, even Carlos jumped to his feet.

The South Warriors managed a pot luck goal twenty minutes in, it was made by their skinniest member, Umbra who was the son of counterfeit doctor Facilier, and he only scored the goal because the sunlight bounced off his belt buckle.

After much noise and running about it came down to the final two minutes, there was a tense silence among the crowd, almost as if everyone was holding their breath; it had been a long game with only two countable goals, Kris had managed to fall into the goal on his attempt, and it would that final to decide the winner.

"Auradon Knights Go! Auradon Knights Win! Auradon Knights Go!"

As the whistle went the South Warriors crowded round each other, creating a barrier blocking both Al and Fin from veiw but Jay wasn't fazed; they meet halfway through the Kill Zone, the Arabian teen diving head first into their strong players, the ball perched on his bat, taken by surprise of Jay's guts two of the players faulted and Jay managed to break through.

The Auradon crowd rose to their feet, all eyes on the ball; Fin took the ball as Jay ran faster down the field, Ben had been lost in the South Warriors barrier and there was only fifty seconds left.

"Go on Jay!" Carlos shouted for the hundredth time that game.

Jay was back in possession of the ball, he took his aim, not noticing the Gaston twins hurtling straight at him but the Arabian was quicker than those lumbering brutes and took the shot before they reached him.

The ball skimmed Umair's cheek, he was too slow to stop it and the Tourney field exploded.

Jay did a little victory dance before racing towards Carlos, "we won!" he cheered as he picked the smaller teen up and swung him around.

The action made parts of Carlos ache but at that moment he was too happy for Jay so he planted the biggest kiss he dared on him.

Ben finally managed to detangle himself from the barrier of boys to embrace Mal, "ew, you stink of sweat." She moaned but was still smiling from ear to ear.

In all the excitement Evie had become overwhelmed and was now kissing Doug quite passionately.

"Party boys!" the coach called to them all, he was holding the winning Cup tightly.

The Auradon Knights all cheered, while the other team sulked off the field and were being shouted at by their coach.

With an arm slung around Carlos, Jay led them off the field; the cafeteria was already decorated with banners saying 'Congratulations!' and a huge cake in the shape of a trophy.

There was pizza, burgers, hotdogs and soda enough to feed the whole town but in the hands of the teenage boys it would barely last the hour.

Even Carlos joined in, feeding off the teams joy, not that he wasn't happy too but he didn't feel the same about Tourney as they did.

"did I mention I'm in love with you?" Ben said a little too loudly to Mal.

Mal blushed furiously and called him an idiot but whispered that she loved him too moments later.

Suddenly someone tapped the young De Vil on the shoulder; it was Alice, looking distressed, "there's someone here to see you." She told him.

Frowning Carlos followed her out of the cafeteria, not telling anyone where he was going, they were too busy dancing; once away from the music he realised how loudly his ears were ringing and how much his stomach hurt from the junk food.

In the main foyer was a man in a black suit, he was tall and very pale but his eyes were dark as night, "good afternoon Mr De Vil, I hope you are well." The man said pleasantly, "my name is Skellington and I was your mother's lawyer."

Carlos eyed the man, normally people who had worked with his mother were shivering wrecks but the man stood very straight.

"what can I help you with?" the young De Vil finally asked.

Skellington pulled out a huge wedge of documents from his briefcase, "as your mother is now deceased you are soul benefactor to all her possessions, estate and bank accounts." He informed Carlos smoothly.

For a moment Carlos couldn't process what the lawyer had said, then he had a proper look at the documents; the house, the furs, what was left of the money was all Carlos's because his mother had never written a will and he was her last blood relative.

But he wasn't sure if he wanted it all, what would he do with it all, "what do I do?" Carlos questioned.

Skellington raised a thin eyebrow, "there's nothing to do, as you are under age you would have been placed in temporary guardianship but that has already been taken care of I believe, so all that should happen now is for you to return to Hell Hall to sort out the possessions." He said in a business like, slightly bored way.

Dread clutched Carlos's full stomach, "I have to go back to Hell Hall?" he gasped out.

"only until all the possessions are sorted out, but by this," Skellington flipped through the huge amount of paper, "there is a lot."

The wedge of a paper was lists of every item Cruella ever owned, right down to the last earring, all the coats were rated in how rare they were and jewels in how many there was of each.

"I hope you have a good rest of your day Mr De Vil, I'm sorry for the intrusion of the party. Good day." Skellington said as he left the foyer.

For the longest time Carlos stood frozen, his good arm full of the documents and his head full with the fact that he had to return to Hell Hall; finally he took a deep breath and went back to the party, he had to talk to Jay.


	25. Chapter 24

By the time Carlos limped back to the cafeteria most of the food was gone and everyone was hyper on sugar, even GodMother was flailing around happily on the dancefloor.

Carlos looked around, words wanting to burst from his mouth, he was itching to tell Jay what had just happened but he couldn't see the Arabian anywhere.

"what's wrong little buddy?" Al approached him, a soda stain on his uniform.

"have you see Jay?" Carlos asked.

As if he heard his name Jay appeared, breathing heavy and flushed red, "where did you go?" he breathed, clearly worried.

Carlos smiled and gestured for Jay to follow him so they could find somewhere quiet; the science lab was glowing under the tank light and a huge explanation took up the whole board.

"what's the matter?" Jay asked once again, he had asked every minute since leaving the cafeteria.

Pulling himself onto one of the stools Carlos placed the thick wedge of documents onto the table, "my mother's lawyer was just here." The young De Vil finally said.

Jay fell into the chair next to him, confusion etching his handsome face, "your mother's lawyer?"

"he told me I own everything now." Carlos flicked through the papers, "the house, the clothes, the jewels, whatever's left in the bank, it's all mine."

Jay let out a strange laugh, "all yours?"

Carlos nodded, "thing is, I don't want it." He sighed, "any of it and now I have to go back to Hell Hall to sort it all out." The young De Vil laid his head on the cool table.

The Arabian ruffled his hair kindly, "I'll come help."

"you don't think I should keep any of it?" Carlos mumbled softly, looking up at Jay through his lashes.

Jay pulled a face, scrunching his nose up tightly, "of course not!" he exclaimed.

Carlos smiled, that's what he loved about Jay, he was always on his side; even if he had spent a couple of years putting him in lockers.

"we'll all come help clear it out, this weekend." Jay said standing.

"but, this weekend?" Carlos spluttered, "that's too soon."

Jay frowned but softened when he saw the worry line between Carlos's eyebrows, "if we get it sorted now, then we won't have to worry about it later. I'll be there the whole time too."

Carlos half fell off the stool and hugged Jay tightly with one arm, he still didn't want to go back to Hell Hall but if Jay and his friends were with him them maybe he could get through it.

The Tourney game had taken place on a Wednesday so there was stll two days till the weekend and Carlos spent two days worrying about what he would actually find in Hell Hall.

President Beast had insisted on sending them with several bodyguards but Be had managed to convince his dad that they would be fine, especially with Jay by their side, but Belle managed to wade herself into the trip.

On Friday night Carlos didn't sleep, he spent the night tossing and turning, disturbing Buddy the whole night, so ended up in the kitchen eating his nerves away with ice cream.

"gunna be sick?" Ben called through the bathroom door.

Granted eating four huge tubs of chocolate, marshmallow and caramel ice cream wasn't Carlos's best idea but now the sickness in his stomach was squashing down the nerves.

Carlos nursed a tall glass of water while everyone else ate breakfast.

"has that lawyer been in contact again?" Beast asked over the top of his newspaper.

"who was it again?" Belle chimed in.

The young De Vil swallowed his water, "Skellington, and I haven't heard from him since." He muttered.

Beast frowned, putting his paper down, "The Jack Skellington was your mother's lawyer? He's a genius, greatest in our class."

"not always dear." Belle said, sipping her coffee, "Skellington became a lawyer right out of Auradon Prep, got very successful very quickly, set up Hallow Law but somewhere along the line he suddenly decided to try his hand at fashion design and guess that's where he met your mother." She told them.

"but, he still a lawyer now." Ben mentioned.

Belle pulled a face, "things got ugly fast, Jack wasn't made for fashion."

"thank you very much Mrs Beast." Said a voice from the door.

Spinning around Skellington stood tall and dark in the doorway but is pale face was twisted into an amused smile, "I've come to collect Mr De Vil, since he his underage I am legally obliged to accompany him."

Belle immediately jumped up, "I'm accompany them."

Skellington raised a thin eyebrow, "them?"

"my friends are coming too, three of them are meeting us there." Carlos finally managed to stand without his stomach aching, "is that okay?" he asked uneasily.

Without a word Skellington nodded and left the room; Belle, Ben and Carlos quickly followed.

Outside was a long, jet black limo, a pretty red haired woman was holding open the door, her dress was patchwork and she had white scars on her skin but she smiled very kindly at them.

"this is Sally, my assistant." Skellington told them, "and my wife." He added with a small smile.

There weren't any luxuries in the back of Hallow Law's lino but at least there was room enough of Carlos's cast; the limo quickly passed the part of the road where Cruella had crashed, there was still police tape up.

South Auradon looked the same as the main state but there wasn't the same energy, it all appeared slightly dull and almost angry.

As Carlos struggled out of the limo he finally saw Hell Hall again; the gates rusted, the weeds overgrown and several windows had been smashed.

"morning!" Jay shouted as he, Mal and Evie came down the sidewalk.

Jay slipped his arm around Carlos, giving him instant comfort.

"go back to the office my dearest friend." Skellington said to Sally before straightening his tie and approaching the front door with the key.

Carlos took a deep breath and led the way; the first thing that the young De Vil noticed was the smell he had never noticed before, it was stale.

Hell Hall was a mess, mould was growing through the wall paper and most things had been smashed; Cruella must have been in a terrible temper before she came to collect her son.

"where do we start?" Mal broke the silence.

Carlos propped his crutch against the wall, Skellington had already taken a seat in the drawing room, and he glared at the two ornate wardrobe on either side of the stairs.

"the furs, let's get rid of the furs." Carlos said firmly, he hated those furs and he would take great pleasure in getting shot of them.


	26. Chapter 25

The group decided to split up, since there were so many rooms and so many wardrobes then it would take forever to collect them all; Carlos immediately went to his mother's room, where all her favourite furs were kept.

The young De Vil took a while to get up the stairs with his cast but he finally made it without help and approached the huge red oak door to Cruella's room.

It was dark in the room, the curtains closed tightly, there was the overpowering smell of incense to cover the stale, mouldy smell so Carlos pulled the huge curtains open to bath the room in morning light.

Cruella's massive bed was covered in a snow leopard throw rug, maybe hundreds of bottles and lotions were on the dressing table, the ornate mirror cracked in several places and the wardrobe was fit to bursting.

Carlos swung the doors open to be confronted with tons of fur coats, hats, gloves and shawls made from every kind of animal; he gently touched them, feeling their softness beneath his fingertips but suddenly anger welled in his stomach.

Those coats were loved by Cruella more than she ever loved Carlos, a bunch of dead animals were worth more to her than her own living son; for a moment he had thought about selling the furs but now he wanted one last revenge on his cold-hearted mother.

Carlos marched across the room back to the window and tried to open it but it was stuck because it had never been opened before.

"are you okay in here sweetheart?" Evie appeared at the door, six fur coats made from tigers in her arms.

"help me with this." Carlos puffed.

Evie dumped the coats on the bed and took the other side of the window; it was difficult even with two people because Carlos could only use on hand and Evie didn't want to break her nails too badly.

At long last the window gave way, it creaked open and the fresh air instantly flowed into the room; Carlos pushed so it was halfway open.

"that's lovely and fresh." Evie smiled, seeming to admire the huge bed with it glorious frilly canopy.

Carlos wasn't listening, he went straight back to the wardrobe to grab an armful of coats; they were heavy and made the young De Vil's nose itch.

"what are you doing?" Evie asked as Carlos approached the open window.

Without a word he shoved the coats out of the window, not even watching them fall to the ground below before going back for more coats.

The blue haired girl was quickly beside him, "what are you doing?" she exclaimed, "those are worth thousands!"

"I don't care." Carlos said through gritted teeth.

After another trip Evie joined in dumping the extravagant coats out onto the driveway until the wardrobe was empty, Carlos ripped the throw rug off the bed, dumping it out the window too and the others from under the bed.

A small sense of satisfaction sat in Carlos's heart but it wasn't enough, there were still hundreds of coats to find so the pair set off to find the rest.

Mal, Ben, Belle and Jay had done quite well too, outside each room was a huge pile of furs so Carlos kicked them towards the stairs before dragging what he could outside.

Skellington watched with interest but didn't say a word.

Very soon there was a mountain of furs on the driveway, Carlos felt sick looking at them all, suddenly there were voices coming up the driveway.

"what you doing with Missus furs?" it was Jasper, who was still spindly with a long nose.

Behind him was Horace who's fat was beginning to sag, he huffed and puffed behind Jasper.

Carlos scowled at them, "whatever I see fit." he snapped.

Spotting a can of petrol where Cruella's car was normally parked Carlos limped over to grab it; the can was practically full and Carlos had to gather all his energy to lift it back to the furs.

By that time everyone had come to see what was happening, Jay appeared at the door just as the young De Vil was pouring the petrol all over the mountain of furs.

"stop that!" Jasper shouted, approaching Carlos menacingly.

Jay was instantly upon him, shoving the older man back, his teeth bared as the young De Vil continued to douse the furs; when the can was empty Carlos turned to Horace.

"give me a lighter." He demanded.

Horace's sagging face twisted in dumb confusion, "wh-what you gunna do with it?"

Jasper smacked him across the back of the head, "you idiot, he's gunna burn Missus's furs."

Carlos hated their stupid squabbling, it was annoying, he half understood why his mother had always shouted at them, "just give me the lighter." He snarled.

"no way, those are the Missus's." Jasper said.

"these are mine!" Carlos shouted, scaring Belle at the door, even Jay was giving him a worried look, "I will do with them as I wish! Now give me a lighter you fools!"

Pure anger was pumping through Carlos's body, he was shaking and his face hot; he could see the fear in Jasper's face as he handed over a long handled lighter.

"you sounded like your mother." Jay suddenly said softly.

Carlos paused, dread gripping his throat and tears immediately stinging his eyes; the last thing he ever wanted was to be like Cruella.

"i-I didn't mean to." The young De Vil whispered.

Jay approached him, instantly embracing the smaller teen, "I know." He kissed the top of Carlos's head, "just calm down."

Even with the calmness of Jay wrapped around him Carlos still felt the nagging feeling of being incomplete so he still ignited the lighter and dropped it onto the furs before anyone could stop him.

The petrol doused furs instantly caught fire, turning every item black in moments and as the flames burned Carlos's face he felt a warming sense of relief.

"what a strange option for your possessions." Skellington appeared, making a note of something in a little book.

Carlos nodded, knowing nobody would understand why he had done it, "let's go find the jewellery." He finally said.

"are you going to burn them too?" Evie looked mortified at the thought.

"no." Carlos laughed, "but I am going to sell it."

"are you not keeping anything dear?" Belle asked kindly.

The young De Vil shrugged; there was barely anything in his tiny room that was worth keeping, maybe a few books he had stolen years ago and a few science trophies but everything else could be sold or thrown away.


	27. Chapter 26

It took another hour to collect all the jewellery strewn around the house, they were everywhere; in the bed, the bath, hidden in cups and huge amounts fell out of bags when shaken.

Evie and Belle dumped the last of the bracelets onto the dining room table.

"what an impressive collection." Mal said, examining a ruby the size of a walnut.

Carlos surveyed the huge amount of jewels before him, it had always baffled him why Cruella had hoarded the jewels, much like her furs, she barely wore any of them and they had never had any guests.

"you'll take this lot, won't you Jay." The young De Vil turned to him.

The Arabian gave him a confused look so Carlos continued, "you're dad can sell this stuff right? Make some money."

Jay frowned, "Carlos, no, sell it to a pawn shop and keep the money." He insisted.

"tough, I'm giving them to you and you can do what you like with them." Carlos stated, leaving no room for argument but he did pick up a small amethyst encrusted dragon, ruby apple paperweight and pure gold and white gold lion broach.

He handed Mal the dragon, Ben the lion and Evie the apple, "for helping me." He told them.

Mal tried to look unimpressed but she couldn't hide her smile; Jay found a huge leather bag and began sweeping the jewellery inside, he still looked like he didn't want to take them but he wasn't going to upset the Carlos.

"what's going to happen to the house?" Evie pondered out loud, turning the apple over in her small hands.

Carlos was sat on one of the huge armchairs Cruella had never sat in, he was staring around the dusty living room, at the wall paper that was peeling at the corners and the staining on the window; as much as he had hated the furs and wanted rid of the jewels he wasn't sure how he felt about the house he had grown up in.

"what do you think Skellington?" Carlos asked the tall man.

Skellington was perched on the window seat, looking highly uncomfortable, he was still pouring over the documents, "are you emotionally attached to this house?"

"no." Carlos replied instantly.

"do you intend to live here later in life?" the pale man raised his eyebrow, surveying Carlos.

"no" he replied again.

Skellington made a note on a piece of paper, "then I suggest selling it or simply allowing it to rot, it would cost a small fortune to repair."

Carlos snorted a laugh, "nobody will want to buy this house."

"hello?" called a voice from the front door.

Pushing himself out of the chair Carlos hobbled to the door to see Mal's mother standing grandly in the doorway; her long dark purple dress was corseted tight and her hair was twisted high.

"mom?" Mal breathed, disbelieving that her mother was standing in the doorway to Hell Hall, "what are you doing here?"

Maleficent swept into the house, taking in the tall ceilings and grand staircase, "I came to see how you were doing kiddo." She said and knocked her daughter playfully.

Mal was unconvinced, "what are you really doing here?"

A pair of deep purple eyes, very expensive contact lenses, found Carlos and she approached him with a wide, hypnotic grin, "such a gorgeous house your mother left you." She hummed.

"you have it then." Carlos found himself saying immediately.

There was silence in Hell Hall, until Skellington stepped forward, "consider it carefully Mr De Vil."

Carlos looked down, "you said yourself it would cost a fortune to maintain and she wants it." He mumbled.

"very well." Skellington sighed deeply, "sign here both of you." He presented a document to them both.

The young De Vil didn't hesitate in signing away Hell Hall to Maleficent.

The ex-Politian cackled a laugh, with a huge triumphant grin she turned to Mal, "welcome home baby!"

Mal paled, her mouth fell open, "oh, not a chance." She said nervously.

"certainly not." Belle snapped, who had seen most of the rooms in the house, "you'll stay with us." She smiled softly.

"oh nonsense." Maleficent laughed.

But Belle wasn't listening, she grabbed Mal and Carlos each by an arm and began leaving Hell Hall, "that's enough for one day, let's go home."

"indeed, good day." Skellingdon said to Maleficent and followed them out.

Jay swung the massive bag of jewels over his shoulder and another curled under his muscled arm.

It was only then they realised that Sally had taken the limo back to Hallow Law but Skellington was already on the phone.

Carlos felt awkward standing in the driveway, the furs still smoking, with Maleficent watching them from the front door.

"how much is left in the bank?" Carlos asked the lawyer, to keep his mind else where.

Checking the documents Skellington pulled out one that was dense with information, he gave a huge sigh, "not as much as there should be, Cruella liked to spend."

Handing over the document Carlos saw there wasn't even enough to buy a car let alone the apartment he had wanted; no huge amount of money had gone in for twenty years but fifty dollars had been going in every week for fifteen years.

Carlos frowned, it went in from an unknown source but he knew who it was; his father.

He's never met the man and he didn't really want to after all that was the man who had either forcefully or willingly abandoned him to the mercy of Cruella.

Jay lent over to see the amount, "wish you hadn't burnt the furs?" he asked.

Carlos shook his head, folding the paper as best he could, and finally the limo from Hallow Law arrived.

"Mal!" Maleficent called, "remember what I told you."

Mal gave her mother a mock smile, "I'll try my best to forget it."

Everyone but Jay piled into the limo, "I'm gunna head home with this lot." He gestured to the jewellery, he placed the other bag into the limo, "speak to you later."

"bye." Carlos whispered and kissed Jay softly on the lips.

Waving goodbye Carlos watched South Auardon disappear and when the main state came into view the young De Vil felt much lighter and happier.

"you've made some very bold choices today Mr De Vil." Skellington said as they arrived at the Beast household, "I hope to see you again soon." He smiled before driving away.

"more guests Madam?" Clogsworth asked, spotting Mal.

Belle ushered everyone inside, where the smell of roast beef was pouring out of the kitchen, "prepare one of the guest rooms for the foreseeable future." She informed the staff.

Sitting at the table Carlos looked around, Ben and Mal were talking softly to each other, their fingers entwined under the table, Evie was spinning the apple on the table with a smile and Belle was reading a small book; even Beast had joined them via video call.

"we're a weird little family." He thought, Jay sent him a message saying Jafar was overjoyed with the jewels, but it made him smile.


	28. Chapter 27

Several weeks passed until Carlos's casts were finally removed, his skin stung slightly as the fresh air attacked where had been covered but he was glad to be able to move properly.

School was very pleasant now too, not a single person bullied the young De Vil any more so he could walk the halls without incident and he wasn't being forced to hide away; Carlos was coming out of his shell and speaking more.

Now that Carlos was free from his restricted casts he and Jay could do more interment things but the young De Vil normally freaked out halfway through so final base was still a stretch goal away.

It was now spring, Carlos had celebrated his birthday with a surprise grand party where he had his first cake and a huge chocolate fountain, the weather was being generally warmer and flowers blooming beautifully in Beast and Belle's garden.

"the Spring Ball is going to be so exciting!" Evie gushed at school.

Mal rolled her eyes and continued to doodle on her English work; the purple haired girl was softer than she had been months before, she dressed in kinder colours and was generally kinder to people, even if she did have little patients for idiocy.

The cheerleaders had arranged the Spring Ball, like every year, but this year it was more exciting because Audrey wasn't in charge so there were lots of flower garlands everywhere and the dress code was informal.

"you're coming, aren't you Carlos?" Ellen, daughter of singer Elsa Arandalle, lent back on her chair her long white ringlets falling over her face.

Carlos smiled, he'd never been to any of the parties at Auradon Prep and his birthday had been the first time he's been joyfully surrounded by people but the idea of a proper party was actually appealing to him now.

"of course, someone's gotta keep Jay out of trouble." He laughed.

Jay smiled at Carlos through his hair as he tried to remember what the teacher had just told them; Jafar had managed to sell nearly all of the jewels and had bought his son a brand new leather coat.

"listen up everyone!" Mrs Jane called to everyone, "I have something to announce."

Everyone went silent, all eyes on their yellow dressed teacher, she looked slightly annoyed and frustrated, "we have a student re-joining us."

The classroom door swung open to revel Audrey; her brown hair was in a delicate bun and she was dressed in a pastel pink suit, behind her was three portly women all with stern faces.

The cheerleaders gasped, horrified to see their ex-captain, the three women ushered Audrey inside; Carlos frowned, he remembered being slightly afraid of the girl last time he saw her but now he just saw a girl who was fake.

Mrs Jane sighed, "Audrey has come back to us because her behaviour has improved." She didn't look happy about having the girl back in her class.

"indeed she has." Said on of the woman, dressed in green.

"Audrey realised her mistakes." Said another, the one with a big red hat.

"and she's working on improving her faults." Said the final woman, dressed in bright blue.

Carlos was beyond unconvinced, the look on Audrey's face was nothing like what Chad's had been, where he had been genuinely sorry about what he had done, the brown haired girl's face didn't move and her eyes were cold.

Obviously Audrey had charmed the women, who were suppoingly her tutors, faking to be forgiving and actually kind just so she could go back to school where she believed to be at the top of the food chain.

"take a seat please Audrey." Mrs Jane told her.

Audrey swept to her seat, as she passed Carlos she shot him a nasty look that confirmed how little she had changed, and immediately tried to talk to Bunny, daughter of model Jessica Rabbit, but was ignored.

When free period finally arrived Carlos couldn't have been more thrilled; Audrey had been burning holes into the back of his head for the last three periods, since none of any of her friends wanted to talk to her anymore.

Just as Carlos sat on the grass beside Jay someone called his name; Audrey was trotting closer to them, a strained smile on her face.

"hello De Vil." Audrey greeted sickly sweetly.

Ben frowned at her but she took no notice, "Audrey." Carlos gave her the smallest of nods.

Audrey clasped her hands in a cute motion, "I wish to speak to you." She said.

"then speak, I'm busy." The young De Vil said sharply.

Audrey's eyes narrowed, flushing pink but she forced her smile more, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for everything."

A mocking snort came from Mal, who hid her face behind her book, "no you're not." Carlos said immediately, "you're not sorry for hurting me."

The sickly sweet image Audrey was trying to hold together broke and she sneered, "you're right, I'm not sorry, but you know what?" she lent forward, close to Carlos's freckled face, "I'm back on my turf now."

Carlos couldn't stop the laugh escaping, he pushed her away, "you're turf? Don't kid yourself, everyone was thrilled when you left little miss perfect."

"nonsense, my friends – "

"haven't spoken to you since you were expelled." Carlos shot back.

As much as the young De Vil didn't want to be cruel but Audrey really was deluded, "you have lost you position that you demanded your way into, nobody wants anything to do with you."

Audrey stood in shock for a long time, tears shining in her eyes; suddenly her teeth were bared, bright red in the face, "you did this you pathetic creature." She snarled.

Without a word Jay stood, slung Audrey over his shoulder and walked off with her kicking and screaming; Evie saved the video she's recoded on her phone to show Mrs GodMother.

"hope she isn't going to stay around." Ben said mockingly.

Jay came back with a triumphant smile, taking a small kiss as a reward before tackling his tricky English work again.

"anyway!" Evie cheered, clapping her hands gleefully, "I want to design all your clothes for the Spring Ball." She seemed too excited.


	29. Chapter 28

Audrey hadn't been expelled, her tutors were called into the school and she was placed in isolation for the week.

Nearly every wall had a huge poster on it for the Spring Ball, the flowers had multiplied tenfold that it started setting off Doug's asthma and Evie had thrown herself into designing clothes on top of helping the cheerleaders with the Gym decorations.

"have you looked at colleges yet?" Belle asked one night at dinner.

Ben had already been accepted to a high status college that Beast had attended before going into politics and Mal was going to an art college only an hour from Ben's.

Jay had applied for three sports colleges but had heard back from all three so he was deciding which one to accept and Evie was already packing her bag to go to fashion Design College.

Carlos was the only one who hadn't applied for any colleges yet, he still wasn't sure what he was good at; true his grades were better than most people's but they were all on par to each other and he couldn't think of anything outstanding.

"I dunno." Carlos mumbled.

Belle paused, looking at the young De Vil, "are you having trouble deciding?" Beast asked softly, finally putting his newspaper down.

Sighing deeply Carlos pushed his food around the plate, nothing in his being was telling him to go to college, the young De Vil wanted to do something more with his life; he knew college was important but something was pulling him to another idea.

"tell us dear." Belle suddenly said, smiling kindly.

Carlos pushed his food away, gearing himself up, "I don't want to go to college." He told them in a rush.

"what do you want to do?" Belle asked without missing a beat, surprisingly unfazed by his announcement.

Pausing for a moment Carlos tried to pinpoint the feeling in his head, "I was just thinking, I can't be the only kid who's been abused, the one thing I noticed was there was no place for me to go." Everyone else was silent as he spoke, "there may not be very much of my mother's money left but there's enough to, maybe, open a place of refuge."

Carlos waited for anyone to say anything, probably tell him what a waste of time the idea was, but both Belle and Beast smiled kindly.

"that sounds like a wonderful idea sweetheart." The beauty told him.

Beast nodded his agreement, "very clever notion."

Carlos grinned happily, pride welling in his chest, "it can be a refuge for animals too, they can be therapy for each other." He added hopefully.

"you're a clever boy Carlos, got some amazing ideas in that head of yours', I'll have a look at the office tomorrow for a property." Beast said and went back to his newspaper.

That night Carlos sat on his bed, making notes of what he would actually need for a place of refuge, it was mostly a list of things that would have comforted him in his time of need.

The only part that made Carlos feel sad was that Jay would be so far away from him, since all three of his colleges were somewhere other than Auradon but he pushed through because he knew that helping those who could not help themselves was what he was meant to do.

Carlos didn't tell anybody else about what he was doing, not because he wasn't proud or excited, it was because he knew they would want to give their own ideas and at that moment the young De Vil wanted to do it on his own.

Instead he pushed attention onto the Spring Ball, got measured several times by Evie for clothes since he had gained weight and tried to persuade Jay to not wear his leather trouser to the ball.

By the Friday Beast had found a small property in the middle of the main state of Auradon with a back garden and space for both humans and animals, so Carlos finally had blue prints to design around.

Friday was also the Spring Ball; the school was now more flowers than school and even though the dress code was informal most of the students had taken half the day off to get ready.

"put it on! Put it on! Put it on!" Evie squealed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

Evie had already given every else their hand sown, unique outfits and was now excitably dashing around Carlos's room, trying not to fall over books.

The outfit that had been made was a white shirt with black arms, gold buttons and a fitted fake leather jacket in red and silver trim.

"it's amazing E." Carlos said softly, amazed how great he looked in the clothes.

Evie fussed about his white tipped hair, slicking it back and placed a flower crown on before he could protest.

"really?" Carlos gave his friend a confused look but didn't take off the crown.

"flowers are the theme silly, these aren't real so they'll last forever." Evie laughed happily, obviously pleased with herself.

The door to Carlos's door opened to revel Mal in a short, ruffled light purple dress, adored with flowers at nearly every seam, she too was wearing a flower crown as well as tiny buds placed in her long hair.

"are you guys ready?" Mal asked, looking like she was itching to remove the flowers from her being.

Ben was behind her with his own flower crown and his light blue shirt had a gold pinstripes, he was smiling lovingly at Mal.

Evie began flapping about, her hair was already perfect in long waves and too many flowers to count but he dress was still on the bed; it was all frills, lace and ruffles adored with even more flowers and a square neckline.

"is Jay meeting us there?" Carlos asked, looking away as Evie stripped of her clothes.

"I wouldn't dare let my date arrive at the Spring Ball without me." Jay was standing in the doorway looking handsome and smug.

Jay had managed to get out of wearing a brightly coloured flower crown like the others, he had a single red bloomed rose instead and his leather coat was lightweight.

Carlos kissed his boyfriend gently, his heart beating faster and blushing lightly as the Arabian's hand tried to wonder inside his shirt.

"oh, do you remember our Spring Ball." Belle gushed as she took many, many pictures.

Beast pulled his wife into a hug, "yes I certainly do my darling." His eyes were shining with love like he was still sixteen himself.

The Beast's waved them all away as Clogsworth in the limo, which had been filled with several types of candies, toward Auradon Prep.

The whole of the road to the school was lined with garlands, there were students milling about in the courtyard some in formal clothing and some had taken pleasure in the informal option.

The cheerleaders had skirts that looked like different types of flower petals, curtesy of Evie, and they made a note of everyone that entered.


	30. Chapter 29

The Gym had been transformed with a rainbow of colour, petals seemed to be falling gently from the roof, the music was thumping loudly and everyone was dancing happily.

At first Carlos couldn't hear anything, even seeing things in the dark Gym, only illuminated by a sparkling disco ball, was a bit difficult but the beat of the music was making his heart beat faster.

Ben immediately swept Mal onto the dance floor, dancing stupidly until she agreed to join in; Doug greeted Evie with a charming smile, even if his eyes were a little dazed.

"I had to take all of my hay-fever medicine just to come into this room." Doug whispered to the young De Vil when Evie wasn't listening.

A new song started, Jay's face lit up happily and pulled Carlos into the middle of the dance floor before he could protest; Carlos hadn't danced with anyone before, at his birthday he's eaten too much chocolate to even move let alone dance.

So he allowed Jay to swing around his arms happily while Carlos laughed at his boyfriend; he caught the faces of most people in his class, they were all laughing and hyper on sugar, Audrey was sulking in the corner by the punch ball and most of the teachers were throwing some pretty dangerous shapes.

Carlos suddenly caught sight of himself in the darkened window; his freckled face was fuller in the cheeks, his body more grown up and he couldn't remove the smile from his face.

The young De Vil had never been one for looking at himself in the mirror, not like his mother, but the glimpse he'd caught of himself was a skinny child-like teen with lonely eyes but now everything about him looked bright and Carlos loved it.

After what seemed like hours of dancing manically the maditory slow-dance song came on; people paired off with others they fancied or were dating, a small group of girls danced together as they were going to different colleges.

Jay pulled Carlos close, their hot bodies pressed tightly together, they could feel each other's hearts beat against their chests; Carlos lent his head on his boyfriend's muscled chest as Jay awkwardly swayed them gently.

"I'm really happy." Carlos said finally.

A rumble of a laugh echoed through Jay's chest, "good, about time."

It was about time; for fifteen years he's been stuck with his crazy abusive mother, hiding from people and generally being unhappy with everything that was his life.

But the past six months had been a rollercoaster of everything, it seemed like all the terrible things that had been obscuring his future was now gone in one way or another and he was surrounded with so many people that cared about him.

The song was coming to an end, Carlos looked up into Jay's deep eyes, so full of love and be couldn't stop himself from kissing the Arabian passionately, not caring who saw them, a swell of amazing emotion expanded in the young De Vil's chest.

It was so strong that Carlos could barely breathe but he didn't want the feeling to disappear and, as Jay held him tightly even after they finished kissing, he knew that would never be the last time he would feel like that.

 

Sorry for all the spelling & grammar mistakes.

Thank you again for reading xXxXxXx


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